Annie B., Made for TV

by Amy Dixon

Overview

For every kid who's ever come in second place, this is a middle grade story about chasing your dreams.

Eleven-year-old Annie Brown is used to being on the losing end of comparisons to her almost-always best friend Savannah. Savannah is MVP of the track team, has straight As, and, predictably, wins the most coveted school spirit award on the last day of 5th grade. Fortunately, Annie does have one very specialized skill.

Inspired by As Seen on TV commercials, Annie likes to invent products and write clever sales pitches to go along with them. So when an opportunity arises to audition for a local web show called The Cat's Meow, Annie knows her future is set. She's going to wow those producers with her fabulous writing and made-for-TV announcer voice.

Of course, things don't happen quite according to plan, and soon Annie is worried about losing both the opportunity she's been training for her whole life, and her best friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762463855
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Amy Dixon is the author of the picture books Marathon Mouse, Sophie's Animal Parade, and Maurice the Unbeastly. She writes from her home in Clovis, California, where she lives on a steady diet of popcorn and coffee. Annie B., Made for TV is her debut middle grade novel.

Editorial Reviews

04/16/2018
On the last day of fifth grade, when her best friend Savannah wins every award, Annie muses, “the only thing I’m best at is being the friend of someone who is always the best at everything.” The engagingly impulsive narrator sells herself short: when it comes to imagination and creative wordplay, Annie has no match. Her passion is writing faux TV commercials, touting devices of her own invention, leading her chipper writer father to dub her a “wrinventor”). Featuring amusing alliteration, the ads that constantly pop into Annie’s head—and out of her mouth—include the “Zippity Zoom,” a time machine that erases mortifying moments (of which she has many). The girl’s fanciful free association unleashes a stream of thoughts and observations—and a mercurial flux of emotions, especially when Savannah becomes besties with another classmate and beats Annie out for the coveted role of announcer in a school production. But Dixon (Maurice the Unbeastly) brings her debut middle grade novel to a reassuring close, as Annie is assigned a role that lets her find her voice, lose her bitterness, and announce perhaps her most useful invention ever: the “Friendship Fixer.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Laura Biagi, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"When it comes to imagination and creative wordplay, Annie has no match."

—-Publishers Weekly


"Annie's first-person narration is hilariously astute.... Readers graduating from Junie B. to lengthier stories will find a new book-friend in Annie B."—-Kirkus Reviews

"Annie's narration is so irrepressible, genuine, and laugh-out-loud funny that she's sure to carve out an audience with young readers.... Hand to fans of the Dork Diaries."—-Booklist


"The incorporation of 'As Seen on TV' adds vivid language, creative thinking, and heart felt dilemmas into a short digestible nugget for the intended audience."—School Library Connection

"Annie B., Made for TV is an engaging story of competition, friendship and, of course, hilarious As Seen on TV commercials for products that should exist, but don't."——Lisa Doan, author of The Berenson Schemes and the upcoming Chadwick's Epic Revenge


"Annie B. isn't just made for TV-she's made for books, too. Readers will cheer her on in this charming story about friendship, first crushes, and following your dreams. A delightful debut!"—-Abby Cooper, author of Sticks and Stones and Bubbles

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
Gr 3–5—Annie and her "sometimes best friend" Savannah are auditioning for a chance to be on a new children's TV show, The Cat's Meow. Annie's dad calls her a "wrinventor," a writer and inventor, because ideas for quirky products pop into her head in moments of crisis, along with the advertisements to accompany them. Her inventions include an air freshener necklace for masking revolting school cafeteria smells and sticky buttons that wearers can twist off and on in times of stress. Unfortunately, Annie doesn't always recognize her own gifts and often compares herself to Savannah, who has just won the Heart of the Quail Award for best student. Dealing with themes of self-acceptance and jealousy, Dixon's story keeps the drama firmly in the middle grade range. Sophisticated readers may find the plot light and the humor corny; Annie's dad makes up words like "confusometrics" and "fantabulous," and her teacher wears funny hats in class. Illustrations and cover art suggest a younger audience than the age of the protagonist. VERDICT A light and humorous story that will be best received by younger middle grade readers seeking gentler fare than "The Dork Diaries."—Sarah Webb, City and Country School Library, NY

School Library Journal

2018-03-27
Can "almost-always" best friends get through a rough patch to become "always-always" best friends?Annie Brown is a writer/inventor ("wrinventor," according to her wordsmith dad) who writes commercials for products she invents. Her "wrinventions" include Apology Armor ("the kneepads you wear on the days you have to say sorry") and the Fishlight (a tankless, waterless, and, critically, live-fish-less aquarium that hangs on the wall, inspired by her little brother's unfortunate curiosity about his pet fish's squish factor.) However, as sidekick to Savannah Summerlyn, the girl who is "the best at everything," Annie spends a lot of time in the background. Annie's opportunity to use her "made-for-TV commercial voice" to showcase her commercial-writing talent comes when she auditions to host The Cat's Meow, a local web show. But Savannah steals Annie's audition and wins the spot. Can their friendship survive, or will they become never-again best friends? Annie's first-person narration is hilariously astute. About the school mascot, the quail, she muses, "When you play another school in basketball, you don't want to be the bird that gets eaten." Annie's friend Jake Ramirez's surname implies he's Latino, but all other characters are assumed white.Readers graduating from Junie B. to lengthier stories will find a new book-friend in Annie B. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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