Oh Susannah: It's in the Bag

by Carole P. Roman, Mateya Arkova (Illustrator)

Overview

From award-winning author Carole P. Roman comes a new chapter book featuring Susannah Logan, a young student having a very bad day. It all begins with homework trouble and an invitation to a sleepover that she doesn't want to go to. Would you want to go to a sleepover in a creepy house? Rather than dealing with her problems, Susannah stuffs them into her backpack. But how much can a backpack take? Will she be able to confront her worries before the backpack bursts? Or will she just continue to hide them away? Join Susannah and her friends in this story sure to charm busy young readers everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781543034615
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	04/03/2017
Series:	Oh Susannah Story , #1
Pages:	46
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of the Captain No Beard series. Both Captain No Beard-An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life and Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis have received the Kirkus Star of Exceptional Merit. The first book in the series was named to Kirkus Reviews Best 2012. Captain No Beard and the Aurora Borealis has been named to Kirkus Reviews Best of 2015. Each book in the series has won numerous awards including the NABE Pinnacle Award, IAN Award, Moonbeam Award 2014, National Indie Excellence Award Finalist, Shelf Media Outstanding Series Award, ForeWord Review Five Star and Finalist in the Book of the Year, and Reader's Views Children's Book of the Year 2013. Roman is also the author of the award-winning non-fiction culture series, If You Were Me and Lived in... that explores customs and cultures around the world. She has co-authored a self help book, Navigating Indieworld A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing. This is her first Early Reader chapter book. She lives on Long Island with her husband and near her children and grandchildren.

Editorial Reviews

2017-06-07
A young girl deals with the pressures of school and family. In this chapter book, Roman (One to Ten, 2017, etc.) introduces Susannah Maya Logan, the white, blonde-haired star of a new series. Third-grader Susannah's day begins in a bad place, as she confronts the math homework left unfinished before going down to breakfast—late, to her mother's annoyance—where the frustrations build. But with both parents pressed for time ("It was as if their whole life revolved around that big clock. Its ornate oversized hands dictated whether breakfast would be rushed or whether dinner would be meatloaf with a mountain of mashed potatoes or a quick pizza from Phil's"), Susannah is prevented from sharing her concerns about school. An uneaten banana joins the uncompleted homework in her backpack, which grows heavier with the addition of an invitation to a friend's sleepover—in a potentially haunted house—a failed math quiz, and two library books as Susannah moves through the day unable to discuss her problems with anyone. The backpack and the strains it represents expand even more in Susannah's mind than they do in reality until they explode in a nightmare that brings her parents to her bedroom and leads to a heartfelt discussion about coping techniques ("You let your work control you, rather than the other way around") and improved communication. Roman does a good job of capturing the frustrations of both Susannah and her overstretched parents, portraying all three as victims of circumstances rather than antagonists. The simple but enjoyable story, taking place in a single day, covers a topic familiar to many young readers and delivers a vocabulary and writing style appropriate for audiences graduating from the Junie B. Jones series and similar works. Although there is a clear message, Roman's story—which features mostly black and white images by Arkova (Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?, 2017, etc.)—avoids outright didacticism. The final pages leave Susannah's sleepover fears unresolved, setting up a clear launching point for the sequel. An engaging tale for beginning readers about contending with the stress of everyday life from a child's perspective.

Kirkus Reviews