Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With a big dose of personal style, a girl named Melissa Abigail Rose ("But everyone calls her `Missy' ") helps kick off the Branches line of illustrated early readers. Missy is the sort of girl who likes dressing up her cat as much as she enjoys dressing herself, and her disaster zone of a bedroom is an early indication that she's ruled by her id. She's especially excited about school picture day, and she tests no fewer than a dozen outfits before settling on one that includes a plaid skirt, "super duper fuzzy hat" with earflaps, glow-in-the-dark ring, and pink cowboy boots. Missy's mother, however, has a more traditional blouse-and-suspendered-skirt combo in mind, putting Missy in a foul mood until a solution presents itself, thanks to a classmate who's as introverted as Missy is outgoing. Nees's full-color cartoons appear throughout, keeping up with Missy's energy and the bustle and activity of an elementary-school classroom. Three more Missy titles will follow later in the year, and four additional Branches series from David Lubar, Andrew Joyner, and others launch simultaneously. Ages 5-7. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Missy, a little girl with a lot of pizzazz, stars in this new chapter-book series. She and pal Oscar concoct a plan to add sparkle to Missy's boring school picture day outfit; mean-girl Tiffany wants to take home the class pets--and so does Missy. With bright, jazzy illustrations and speech bubble text, both books are visually engaging. [Review covers these Missy's Super Duper Royal Deluxe titles: Class Pets and Picture Day.] (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Shaped like an early chapter book rather than an easy reader, this effort, one of a new series called Branches, introduces super-duper Missy and her encounter with school picture day. Missy, a very exuberant and headstrong young grade schooler, spends her whole week imagining all of the wild outfits she could wear to have her picture taken. The full-color, cartoony illustrations, some humorously depicting her numerous clothing changes and wild design concepts, fill most of the white space on each page and effectively portray Missy's personality, as well as that of a bookish classmate, Oscar. She adores ruffles, striped tights and lots of over-the-top accessories, a fascination that many young female readers will recognize and enjoy. Missy's mother forces her to wear a plain blouse and skirt with suspenders for her picture, though, and she fusses and fumes through her school day. Eventually, she and Oscar, who loves suspenders but is wearing a plaid vest and bow tie, hatch a scheme that resolves her woes. Most pages feature only a sentence or two but include some challenging sight words, considering how brief the text is: "gracious," "chocolate" and "information" among them. Not quite as easy a read as similarly formatted Boris on the Move, by Andrew Joyner (2013), this will nonetheless appeal to emergent female readers wishing to look especially accomplished to their peers--and who doesn't enjoy that feeling? (Fiction. 5-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
