Ready or Not! #1

Description

From prolific author Megan E. Bryant comes the first book in a young middle-grade series about nine-year-old Abby, a girl trying to grapple with all the chaos that can come from growing up. For nine-year-old Abby McAdams, everything seems to be changing. Her cousin and best friend, Zoe, has moved across the country, her mom is going back to work, and Abby is stuck in the only after-school activity still available--running--which she absolutely loathes. Her perspective on the world is changing, too, after an encounter in her community sheds light on the issue of homelessness in her town. On top of everything, sudden changes in Abby's body mean she has to deal with things like deodorant, bras, and uncomfortable conversations. And without her best friend by her side, she's not sure she can handle it all. She's not a grown-up yet, but she definitely doesn't feel like a little kid anymore. She's Abby, in between. Ready or Not! is an accessible and positive exploration of the early stages of puberty, and is the perfect pairing to nonfiction guides like The Care and Keeping of You- The Body Book for Younger Girls.

Megan E. Bryant has written more than 250 children's books for ages ranging from babies to teens. Her most recent novels include the four-book Tiny Geniuses series, and the Kirkus starred and Best Book of the Year listed Glow. She co-authored her four-book board book series, Citizen Baby, with her husband, historian Daniel O. Prosterman. Other of Megan's titles include media tie-ins and middle-grade and YA novels for Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Chronicle, Running Press, Disney, Harper, and Scholastic, including two 2009 VOYA Nonfiction Honor Books (Mythlopedia- Oh My Gods! and Mythlopedia- She's All That!). Some of her titles are written under her pen name, Ellie O'Ryan.

* "Younger middle grade readers will identify with Abby's journey in this series debut that can help them navigate the changes, big and small, that life presents." -School Library Journal, starred review "Bryant delicately captures the shock, embarrassment, and self-consciousness of a young girl at the onset of puberty and writes with true compassion for a preteen yearning for independence while still needing emotional support." -BCCB "This fast-paced series starter does a wonderful job of exploring the wide variety of changes that young readers face, as well as the topics of the unhoused, job loss, and financial insecurity, leaving readers with a sense of possibility for the future and inspiration that they can change the world for the better." -Booklist