Really no Big Deal - Hardcover

Margaret Bechard says, "When I was growing up, my father and I didn't share a lot of interests or activities. I was the youngest of his six children, a quiet child who spent most of her time reading. He was in his fifties and spent most of his time working in an office I never saw. But on Sunday afternoons in the fall and winter, we had a ritual. He would build a fire in the fireplace and settle into his armchair. I would stretch out onto the floor. And we would watch football games. His favorite team was the Minnesota Vikings. "Now I watch football with my three sons. They stretch out on the floor and the couches. I get the seat closest to the fire. Their favorite team is the San Francisco 49ers. I still root for the Vikings." Margaret Bechard is the author of five novels. She lives in Tigard, Oregon with her family. copyright ? 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Grade 5-8-Jonah Truman has lots of "big deals" to cope with-he's one of the shortest kids in seventh grade; he can't figure out how to talk to girls; and he needs to earn money for an end-of-the-year class trip. But his troubles escalate when his mother starts dating Mr. Decker, the principal of his school. Bechard conveys with honesty Jonah's confused feelings and fickleness. He and his friend Amanda's money-making scheme of assisting at kids' birthday parties provides lots of opportunities for laugh-out-loud situations. The romantic entanglement of the adults and the feelings it engenders are realistically handled, particularly Mr. Decker's perplexity as to how to deal with Jonah's anger and uncertainty. Not since Betsy Byars's Bingo Brown has there been such a likable character, similarly drawn with humor and empathy. Bechard has a wonderful grasp of adolescence-its angst, language, and sense of humor.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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