Review by Amanda Smith

What a thrill to introduce you to a new humor-and-heart, sibling story: Missy and Mason visit the Museum of Natural History, where Missy spots a Woolly Mammoth and declares with all the passion of a six-year-old that she wants a mammoth of her own. Through a series of hilarious interchanges Missy, the ever-optimist, makes her case for why Malcolm the Mammoth would be an excellent pet, each time interrupting Mason just as he is about to explain why she can’t possibly have a mammoth.

Missy Wants a Mammoth (Pixel+Ink/Holiday House, 2024) will captivate young readers with funny banter between a vibrant girl and her very realistic, know-it-all big-brother. Colorful illustrations by Ariel Landy are filled with lots of movement and fun moments, and include some hidden surprises. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they anticipate Missy’s impending disappointment, but they will be delighted by her enthusiasm, perseverance, and huge pay-off!

On Writing:
In Missy Wants a Mammoth, Pam Vaughan’s two characters shine as two completely different individuals, with their own unique voices. The text throughout is written as dialogue, with no exposition, yet both Mason’s and Missy’s personalities are consistently identifiable: the dreamer and the realist. Vaughan accomplishes this by giving exuberant optimist, Missy, vivid imagery, playful vocabulary, and enthusiastic interjections, while Mason, the earnest voice of reason, sounds almost academic with level-headed vocabulary. Take another look at your characters’ vocabulary and whether it differs and contributes to their unique personalities.

Find out more about Pam Vaughan here, and don't miss her guest blog, The Funny Thing About Aspens (and Writing).
Find out more about Ariel Landy here.

Review by Kelly Carey
At first, I was wary to read this middle grade novel. Simon is the sole survivor of a school shooting and that plot line felt heavy. But Erin Bow fills SIMON SORT OF SAYS (Disney Hyperion, 2023) with quirky characters in hilarious escapades that allow readers to laugh in the face of tragedy.  She puts an angry peacock in a hearse, lets loose a herd of emu, and anoints a holy squirrel. If that is not enough, she introduces the possibility of faking a message from aliens using a microwave. The humor cushions the tough emotions of this book.

Yes, Simon survived a school shooting. But this book is about how Simon works through the trauma and the symptoms of PTSD, and how his ordeal affects his family. For starters the family has fled to the National Quiet Zone in the hopes of being anonymous. But as Simon makes new friends, the specter of his truth looms large. This is a story about hope, family, and friendship…and a deranged peacock. But mostly the hope stuff.

On Writing
Erin Bow proves that humor is a smart foil to stories that cover tough topics. Use this novel as a mentor text for wrapping weighty subjects in a soft cocoon for young readers – like you hide medicine for your dog in peanut butter. You can also study this book for the sheer humor alone. Bow hits just the right funny bone for the middle grade reader as she places unique characters smothered in heart into ridiculous predicaments.

This is also a wonderful mentor text for exploring secondary characters. Consider the supporting cast Bow puts around her main character and how they propel the plot forward and offer a point-counterpoint to Simon’s perspective. She makes Simon’s mother a funeral director and his father a Catholic deacon. This allows the book to naturally explore themes of death from both a secular and religious lens. Use SIMON SORT OF SAYS to consider how the characters in your manuscript aid you in telling your story, elicit reactions from your main character, and add depth to your plot.
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Don’t be scared of writing about harsh topics, and don’t run away from reading SIMON SORT OF SAYS. You’ll be happy to meet Simon and learn how simple acts can repair a damaged heart. 

To learn more about Erin Bow visit https://www.erinbow.com/ or find her on social media @erinbowbooks. 
Click here to purchase Simon Sort of Says.