Just Grace

Charise Mericle Harper

Book - 2007

Misnamed by her teacher, seven-year-old Just Grace prides herself on being empathetic, but when she tries to help a neighbor feel better, her good intentions backfire.

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jFICTION/Harper, Charise Mericle
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Children's Room jFICTION/Harper, Charise Mericle Due Apr 9, 2024
Subjects
Published
Boston : Houghton Mifflin 2007.
Language
English
Main Author
Charise Mericle Harper (-)
Physical Description
138 p. : ill
ISBN
9780547014401
9780618646425
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Grace (whose harried teacher nicknames her Just Grace to distinguish her from the three other Graces in class) deals with the usual trials and tribulations of third grade in this hilarious first chapter book. In addition to the usual indignities (being spit on at your birthday party; missing the talent show because of the stomach flu), Grace must deal with feelings about her intimidating next-door neighbor, Mrs. Luther, whose walls are decorated with scary masks and who seems fond of Grace's nemesis, disgusting Sammy Stringer. Grace loves Mrs. Luther's cat, Crinkles, though, and when it goes missing she determines to find it, even if that means temporarily joining forces with Sammy. The kids come alive in the story, and Harper, the author of several previous books, including the graphic novel Fashion Kitty (2005), enhances the comical goings-on with sparkling cartoon sketches. Equally delightful is the wry voice of energetic Just Grace, who never misses an opportunity to point out the injustices life has dealt her. She's a hero through and through. Give this to fans of Ann Nagda's Meow Means Mischief (2003) or anyone looking for a funny book. --Kay Weisman Copyright 2007 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The energetic eight-year-old narrator of Harper's (The Invisible Mistakecase) sprightly story is eager to share the injustices of her life. She did not get to be the magician's helper at her very own birthday party and she had to play a stationary tree rather than a dancing corncob in the Thanksgiving play. Worst of all, since there are three other girls named Grace in her class, her teacher has dubbed her Just Grace when she really just wants to be called Grace. When she vents her name dilemma to the sympathetic French flight attendant who rents the basement apartment in Grace's house, the woman counters with another tale of woe. She tells Grace that their next-door neighbor broke her leg when she fell off a ladder, almost squashing her beloved cat, Crinkles, who is now terrified of her owner and her orange cast. Grace springs into action with a plan meant to cheer up the despondent neighbor: she will send her postcards featuring photos of Crinkles and messages written in the feline's voice. Yet when the postcards arrive at the same time the cat goes missing, they are mistaken for ransom notes and the classmate Grace least likes is accused of catnapping Crinkles. In a predictable but satisfying denouement, the two resourceful youngsters bury their differences, sort out the misunderstanding and manage to find the missing pet. Grace's spirited annotated drawings and her inimitable narrative's arrangement into brief vignettes makes this a good choice for kids just beginning to tackle chapter books. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4-Just Grace starts with a list of missed opportunities and finishes with the rich possibility of a new friend. In between, third-grader Grace Stewart sends postcards to her next-door neighbor (purporting to be from Crinkles, the neighbor's own cat), draws comics of Not-So-Super ("but still good") superheroes, plays detective with her best friend when Crinkles goes missing, tries to avoid the odious Sammy Stringer, and establishes herself as a true original in a class with not one, but four, Graces. The narrative voice is strong throughout and the story reads like one-part diary, one-part testimonial. The text is interspersed with the child's illustrations and postcards, which nicely divide the story into episodes, as opposed to chapters. A strong cast of supporting characters shares her world. Since Grace claims to have a teeny-tiny superpower ("I can always tell when someone is unhappy, even if that person is pretending to be happy and is a really good actor"), her relationships with these people, and her ability to read them correctly, take on greater significance as the story advances. Grace is a funny, mischievous protagonist who should easily find a place in the pantheon of precocious third graders. Fans of Amber Brown, Clementine, and Judy Moody will love her.-Kara Schaff Dean, Needham Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Making lists, drawing a comic strip about not-so-super heroes, and doing good deeds are some of this opinionated third-grade narrator's main activities. The ""good deeds"" backfire when she secretly tries to cheer up a neighbor and gets accused of kidnapping her cat instead. Funny cartoon illustrations accompany this spirited look at the pros (and occasional cons) of empathy. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A plan to cheer up her neighbor with postcards from her cat, Crinkles, lands third-grader Grace Stewart in trouble when the cat disappears. She has to admit she sent the cards and work with her least favorite person, Sammy Stringer, to find the missing pet. Just Grace--so named because she is the fourth Grace in her classroom--is an engaging and empathetic little girl who enjoys drawing, helping others and making lists. This gently humorous first-person story includes a number of these lists, such as seven things she knows and doesn't know about Ms. Luther (scary older-kids teacher and also the lady next door) and four more things she learned about her from Augustine DuPre (the French flight attendant who lives in the basement). Short chapters are illustrated with Grace's own work: occasional line drawings, the cat photocards and some not-so-superhero comics. An appealing chapter book with just a hint of mystery for middle-grade girls; a sequel is already in the works. (Fiction. 7-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

I did not get to be the helper to Mister Magic the Magician at my very own (so it should have been me) sixth birthday party because Sammy Stringer spit purple grape juice all over my special white shirt with a big six on it, and I had to change it right when Mister Magic was starting up. Mom said she was sure it was an accident, but I just know that spitting is pretty much an on-purpose thing, and it is almost impossible to forgive someone for something on purpose even if it was almost three years ago, which is a very long time. I did not get to be a singing and dancing corncob in the Thanksgiving play because I was the only girl tall enough to fit into the tree costume who didn't cry real boo-hoo baby tears when she was asked, "Could you please not be a corncob, because what we really, really need is a tree and we already have way more than enough corncobs." will not say who cried big tears, and is probably a good actress because two seconds after she found out I was going to be the tree she was all smiles, because I am not a tattletale-type person. But I will say that I do not like her even one tiny bit, and that when she is not doing her acting, her true self is a Big Meanie! Mom said I was a great tree even though I didn't get to say anything and Mr. Franks kept whispering at me to stop moving my arm branches around so much--he didn't think it should be a windy day. But if you are a tree it is boring to stand there super still with your arms out on each side doing nothing. I did not get to be in the talent night at school and show off the photos I took with my new camera because I was sick with the stomach flu and was throwing up. Aurora Gambit won a first-prize blue ribbon for her photos of flowers, which were okay, but my cat photos are way better and would have for sure taken her first-prize ribbon right away. Plus, she could be happy with the second- prize ribbon because it is red and that is one of her favorite colors because she says that red things look good with her orangish hair. Sammy Stringer got an honorable mention green ribbon for his paintings of dog poop, which is totally unbelievable and gross! But the biggest I-did-not-get-to-be of my life, ever, happened right at school in front of everybody in the whole third grade class. I did not get to be called Grace, which is an okay thing if your name is Tania or Ruth or Jordan but totally 100 percent unfair if you are me and your name is Grace, which mine is. I didn't tell Mom because I knew she'd be mad and call the school, and you can't have your mom call the school unless something really bad happens, like maybe someone mean pushes you down and it breaks three of your front teeth, or else everybody will think you are a big baby and a complainer. And I am not either of those two things! There are four girls named Grace in my class. Miss Lois, our new teacher, said, "We'll have to do something about that. It's too confusing with all you Graces." Then she said, "Grace Wallace, you will be Grace W. Grace Francis can be Grace F., and Grace Landowski can be Grace L." Right then Grace L. stood up and said, "Pretty please, Miss Lois, can I be Gracie instead of Grace L.?" I knew I was next, so I said, "And I want to be just Grace." "Perfect," said Miss Lois, and then she went down the list of everyone's new names and wrote them in her special book. "Let's see, we have Grace W., Grace F., Gracie, and Just Grace." Then Grace F. stood up and started waving her arm like a crazy person, trying to get Miss Lois's attention. She gave me a mean look and said, "How come she gets to be called Grace and I have to be Grace F.? It's not fair! I want to be the one called Grace!" Miss Lois seemed a little grumpy that we were still talking about the Grace name thing. She made a big sigh and said, "You're right, dear--it's not fair for anyone to be called Grace, so that's why Grace Stewart wants to be called Just Grace." Both Grace F. and I said "Just Grace?" at the same time. "That's weird!" said Grace F. I tried to tell Miss Lois that she'd made a mistake and that I wanted to be called just Grace, not Just Grace, but she put her hand up in the air and said, "That's enough, girls. Let's move on to the three Owens." And that's how it happened that I have the stupidest name in the whole class! Or maybe even the whole entire world! Excerpted from Just Grace by Charise Mericle Harper All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.