Mallory on the Move (Mallory Series #1)

by Laurie B. Friedman, Tamara Schmitz (Illustrator)

Overview

When eight-and-a-half-year-old Mallory McDonald’s parents tell her that they are moving, she’s mad—really mad! It’s not fair! How can they make her move away from Mary Ann, her best friend in the whole wide world? Who will she paint her toenails with, tell secrets to, and make scrapbooks with? When Mallory arrives at her new house on Wish Pond Road, things are terrible. Her room is too small and the girl next door is mean. But Joey lives next door, too. Even though he doesn’t paint his toes, he tells jokes, helps teach her cat to do tricks, and shows her how to skateboard. Mallory’s having so much fun she forgets the pact she made with Mary Ann never to make friends with a boy next door. But, when Mary Ann comes to visit, what will Mallory do? Will she have to choose between her best friend and her new friend?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575058313
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2005
Series:	Mallory , #1
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	392,264
Product dimensions:	5.63(w) x 7.56(h) x 0.39(d)
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Laurie Friedman is the author of the popular Mallory series, The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair series, and many award-winning picture books. She lives in Florida.

As an illustrator, Tamara Schmitz is well known to the many elementary-grade fans of Laurie Friedman's Mallory chapter books. Tamara grew up one of six children in the small town of Carey, Ohio. She graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design, and spent her early career as an art director in advertising, teaching art, and illustrating greeting cards. Schmitz addresses a topic close to her own heart in her original self-illustrated picture book Standing on My Own Two Feet: A Child's Affirmation of Love in the Midst of Divorce. Sitting at her desk for too many hours, however, drives Tamara crazy. So in her free time she works on getting her third degree black belt in Taekwondo. Tamara resides in Cincinnati with her husband, two children, and stepson.

Editorial Reviews

Spinning a spry variation on a familiar theme, Friedman launches a series starring a spunky eight-year-old who is not happy about her family's impending move. Mallory makes a determined attempt to avoid the inevitable, reciting for her patient mother the day-by-day agenda that she and her best friend, Mary Ann, have devised, concluding, "As you can see from this very busy schedule, I don't have time to move this summer.... Sorry. Maybe we can talk again in the fall." The heroine's chatty first-person narrative brims with similarly flip comments and asides, as Mallory trades barbs with her caustic 10-year-old brother, grumbles that her new bedroom is so small that she "[does not] think there's enough air" for her and her beloved cat (as she writes to Mary Ann), and develops a friendship with Joey, her new neighbor (despite the fact that she has solemnly pledged a "pinkie swear" to Mary Ann that she will "never be friends with any boy next door"). The plot proceeds at a perky pace as she and Joey devise pranks to pay back their self-absorbed older siblings; Mallory copes with her divided loyalty between her two friends; and, when Mary Ann comes to visit, is afraid to divulge the fact that she's broken her "pinkie swear." Readers may groan at many of Mallory's relentless jokes, yet they'll find her-and Joey-likable characters worth revisiting. Ages 7-10. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-4-Despite "Operation-Convince-My-Mom-that-Moving-and-Leaving -Behind-My-Best-Friend-Is-a-Bad-Idea," eight-year-old Mallory's parents go forward with their plans. On Wish Pond Road, three hours away from her best friend, all of the houses look alike but there is a wishing pond that she can't wait to try out. Even though she pinkie swore with Mary Ann that she wouldn't play with the boy next door, Mallory has fun with Joey. When Mary Ann comes to visit, Mallory must learn how to balance both friendships. Large-type print, an open format, and humorous illustrations make the book accessible to newly confident chapter-book readers. Mallory is an appealing character who deserves a place alongside Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, Amber Brown, and Clarice Bean. This amusing offering makes a good choice for youngsters who are adjusting to new environs.-Debbie Stewart Hoskins, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Eight-year-old Mallory is moving away from her best friend Mary Ann in this predictable effort for chapter-book readers. The first-person narrative should provide insight into the young protagonist; instead it limits the story to Mallory's self-pitying point of view. She seems spoiled as she whines about the move, adjusts to her new neighborhood, befriends neighbor Joey, and eventually runs away with Mary Ann after a weekend visit. Joey's sister, Winnie, and Mallory's brother, Max, lack any depth besides playing their cardboard roles as evil siblings. The parents, rather than taking a stand against the interminable mean-spirited sparring, seem to accept that their children will say and do cruel things to one another. Indeed, the spoiled Mallory is rewarded first with a trip to a restaurant and later with take-out Chinese food after being "punished" for her bratty behavior. A flat effort at depicting a familiar life passage. (Fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews