Minn and Jake - Softcover

Grade 3-5-Minn, the lonely young narrator who has just lost her best friend asks, "Do you ever feel this way?" establishing a connection to readers on the first page of this short novel. Wong's free-verse writing suits this warm story of unlikely friendship between "odd- pigtailed- and very much alone" Minn and Jake, a newcomer to fifth grade who is short and "has a new spiky haircut/-that makes him look/like a baby crow." The connection for them is lizard catching, an after-school activity unique to their community of Santa Brunella. Minn is good at it, Jake is terrified of lizards. The plot twists through the few emotional tight spots successfully: Minn's determination not to "waste her time/on that city boy Jake," and, in turn, Jake's rejection of Minn when he bluntly hangs up on her. Just in time, the story develops tension through the class bullies, Vik and Henry, who make Jake's life miserable, tormenting him about his fears. Ultimately, however, Jake proves his mettle. Cote's whimsical, spare black-and-white sketches are reminiscent of drawings that might be found in a fifth-grade student's notebook and work well with this story.
Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
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