Kid Konnection: The Popularity Papers - Book 2

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I'm going to share with you a fun middle grade graphic novel by one of Booking Daughter's favorite authors -- Amy Ignatow!

Summary: Best friends Julie and Lydia are back in this hilarious sequel to Amy Ignatow's breakout novel!

After spending all of fifth grade studying popularity together, Julie and Lydia are finally ready to put their hard-earned lessons to use in junior high. But before they can, tragedy strikes: Lydia's mom gets a job in London for six whole months! Before Lydia can say "fancy a cup of tea?" she's thrust into a new school, where she earns a reputation as "the Violent American." Meanwhile Julie's stuck navigating the cliques of American junior high on her own, where she is adopted by a group of troublemaking eighth graders known as the Bichons. The two best friends will have to learn to keep in touch and stand on their own, assisted as always by their trusty notebook. Amy Ignatow's signature sense of humor is on full display in this satisfying sequel. -- Amulet

Lydia and Julie (aka The Popularity Paper girls) are back much to Booking Daughter's (and my) delight! This time the book is called THE POPULARITY PAPERS: THE LONG-DISTANCE DISPATCH BETWEEN LYDIA GOLDBLATT & JULIE GRAHAM-CHANG by Amy Ignatow. Whew -- that's a mouthful! From here on out, I'm just going to call it THE POPULARITY PAPERS 2.

THE POPULARITY PAPERS 2 picks up right where the first book left off. Lydia and Julie are getting ready to start 6th grade; and as many of you know, with the start of middle school, comes many changes. (I can definitely vouch for that since Booking Daughter started sixth grade in August, but that's another story.) The biggest change that Lydia and Julie have to face is that Lydia's mother has accepted a job in London. The girls make a pact that they will maintain their journal and remain friends despite their long-distance relationship.

This book is just so much fun! It goes without saying that I loved the story, but Amy Ignatow's colored pencil illustrations really make this book super special. I love how Ms. Ignatow captures the essence of both Lydia and Julie's personalities, and I think she has an uncanny way to think just like an 11 year old! The journals and emails are so very cute, yet also pretty realistic. I'm not alone in my excitement. Booking Daughter absolutely loved this book too, and I could tell how much it resonated with her.

Like the first POPULARITY PAPERS, I'm pretty sure that this book will be a hit with tweens. Lydia and Julie deal with many of the same issues that middle grade girls everywhere experience. This book deals with cliques, mean girls, bullying, friendship, self-confidence, peer pressure, and of course, the struggle to be popular. As a mom, I loved that Lydia and Julie learn valuable messages about integrity and the importance of friendship.

Last year, I reviewed the first book in the series THE POPULARITY PAPERS: RESEARCH FOR THE SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL BETTERMENT OF LYDIA GOLDBLATT & JULIE GRAHAM-CHANG, and I absolutely loved it -- as did Booking Daughter. It's just a perfect book for late elementary and early middle grade girls. As much as I enjoyed this book, I appreciated it even more after Booking Daughter and I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Ignatow -- you can read about our awesome visit with her here.

If you have a tween girl in your life, then THE POPULARITY PAPERS are must-read books! Heck, if you are looking for a cute graphic novel that's guaranteed to make you smile, then check out both of these books.

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this very fun book!

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!