Allen lassoes another terrific tale for the Magnificent Mya Tibbs series.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: THE WALL OF FAME GAME: “Hilarious...with a charming cast of characters that readers will be eager to follow.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “Nuanced depictions of friendship coupled with larger-than-life and fully three-dimensional characters make this delightful book at once thoughtful and a riot to read.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “Spunky, sweet hearted, and full of fun, Mya will have readers everywhere yelling ‘Yee-haw’!” — Varian Johnson, author of The Great Greene Heist
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “[A] winning series debut.” — Booklist
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “Endearing” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “A big-hearted, high-spirited, cowboy-booted heroine…The story’s vivid small-town setting and memorable characters will have many readers looking forward to more Mya.” — Publishers Weekly
Praise for THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS: SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN: “In Spirit Week Showdown, earnest Mya, with her Texas charm and mounting friendship problems, kept me turning the pages all the way to the boo-yang cool finale. Trust me: you’ll want all your friends to read this one!” — Tracey Baptiste, author of The Jumbies, a School Library Journal selection
Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “This is a lively approach to an issue that’s come up recently in the news...and the historical aspect could help readers consider their own family lore that may not have made its way into written accounts.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Laura Dyson’s sweet, sassy voice draws you into this delightful story of self-discovery and acceptance, unwavering friendship and the deep roots of one amazing family.” — Donna Gephart, author of Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen
Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Crystal Allen shows us how our relatives, even the ones we’ve never met, sometimes have a way of gently weaving a path to exactly who we’re meant to be, our truest and best self.” — Kathryn Fitzmaurice, author of The Year the Swallows Came Early
Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “Under all the braggadocio is a boy with a big heart, and from the first sentence Lamar will have readers hooked.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. ” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “The powerful mix of sibling rivalry, revenge, and hard-won redemption strengthens the perennial appeal of the naïve-underdog-makes-good plot; readers will come for the laughs and stay for the laughs.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “The tween book world has a new hero-Lamar Washington-as well as a brilliant new author who’s bound to win a Bubba-sized trophy herself!” — Neal Shusterman, author of The Schwa Was Here and Challenger Deep
2018-09-30
This latest addition to Allen's series about a determined fourth-grader highlights Mya's struggles to keep her family and friends connected any way she can.
While her big brother, Nugget, is congratulated for his intelligence and her baby sister, Macey, is showered with attention and constant care, Mya is left out of the circle of love she's used to sharing with her African-American family. Most of her earnest attempts to attract her parents' attention are either ignored or met with confusion, but when she's given a school assignment to build a business, Mya's sure that a good-news-only newspaper will be the perfect vehicle to park her parents' focus back on her. In between trying to get her family back on track, repairing broken friendships, and ensuring joyous birthday celebrations for her twin friends and for their small Texas town, Mya learns solid lessons about the lasting power of hurtful language, the importance of speaking up for yourself, and the pressures of owning a small business. Mya faces realistic consequences for some of her more questionable hijinks, but the inclusion of accessible templates for building budgets and business plans and the fact that adults listen to Mya when she expresses emotional distress make this more than just a story about adaptability; it's an introduction to other, broader conversations with kids about money, health, and responsibility.
Allen lassoes another terrific tale for the Magnificent Mya Tibbs series. (Fiction. 8-10)
