Book Title:
Izzy Kline Has Butterflies
Book Author:
Beth Ain
Publishing Date:
March 7th, 2017
Publisher:
Random House Books for Young Readers
Date Read:
March 1st, 2017
Source:
ARC from publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

So many moments—big and small—make up a year, and Beth Ain chronicles them all in this heartwarming novel in verse, perfect for fans of Fish in a Tree and verse novels like Brown Girl Dreaming and The Crossover.

Fourth grade is here, and Izzy Kline is nervous! There are plenty of reasons for the butterflies in her stomach to flap their wings. There’s a new girl in her class who might be a new best friend. The whole grade is performing Free to Be . . . You and Me—and Izzy really wants a starring role. And new changes at home are making Izzy feel like her family is falling apart. First-day jitters, new friends, an audition . . . How many butterfly problems can one fourth grader take?

My Review

Izzy Kline is going to fourth grade, and she’s nervous about it.  She spends her time wondering what the year is going to entail for her – who will be her friend?  Will she get the lead spot in the school play?  Will the things going on in her home go back to normal?  Will the butterflies in her tummy settle down any time soon?

Izzy Kline Has Butterflies is a very well written book that tells the story of Izzy Kline’s life as a new fourth grade student.  Since the story is told over the course of the year in small moments (such as recess or during normal days at home), we really get to take a look into Izzy Kline’s day-to-day life without only focusing on the bigger moments (I really love books like this, because I always feel like I get to know the characters better that way).

As far as Izzy’s character goes, I found it easy to follow along with her during the second half of the book, because in the first half she seemed to jump around from one thing to the next a bit quickly.  However, once I really got a feel for her story telling, it was easy to laugh along with her and experience all of the emotions she felt, like feeling excitement for the big play that she wanted to play the lead in so badly.

Unfortunately, the book was a little short, which was a bummer, but since it’s written in verse for middle graders, it probably works better to make younger readers stick with the book and really enjoy the writing style.  I think this is a brilliant way to introduce younger readers to falling in love with poetry and novels in verse.

Speaking of verse – the entire book is written in verse, and it really makes it a breeze to read through and quite enjoyable, as well.  When novels are written in verse, they tend to carry a lot of emotion in the words they contain, making it easy to get attached to the characters and the story.  This is also only the second book written in verse for middle grade readers that I’ve come across, so I have to say that I was impressed by this one!  It’s definitely a book that I would share with my own daughters.

3.5 stars
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