Review: Katie Woo Rules the School by Fran Manushkin (ARC)

Katie Woo Rules the School. by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Tammie Lyon. August 1, 2012. Capstone. 96 pages. ISBN: 9781404879089

Four Katie Woo books originally published as stand-alone easy readers have been gathered into this attractive collection entitled Katie Woo Rules the School. In each story, Katie faces a different situation in her classroom. "Katie and the Class Pet" is the predictable story of Katie bringing the class guinea pig home for the weekend and nearly losing him. "No More Teasing" offers effective solutions for classroom bullying. "The Big Lie" deals with the theft of a classmate’s toy and lying to cover it up. "Star of the Show" focuses on the class play, in which Katie has a much more significant role than she realizes. Each story teaches a lesson that can easily apply to any child’s day-to-day life at school.

Because they are now in a compilation, the four books included here are no longer divided into their own short chapters. It is almost as though each story is a chapter unto itself, a fact that is likely to attract new readers who are anxious to start reading “big kid” books. The illustrations remain, which is wonderful, because they’re adorable and they offer just the right amount of clues to help readers decode what they read. In this new format, Katie Woo suddenly seems to fit into the same category as characters like Mr. Putter and Tabby, Frog and Toad, and Mercy Watson, all of whom star in longer, thicker easy readers. The transitional time when kids move from easy readers to chapter books is a tricky one for some people - especially parents - and this new format for Katie Woo fills a real need for easy-to-read books that more closely resemble chapter books.

I have always loved Katie Woo, and this book has made me excited about her all over again. Don’t miss the suggestions at the back of the book for activities related to the stories, and also be on the lookout for Katie Woo and Friends, another compilation to be published along with Katie Woo Rules the School in August. Katie Woo and Friends will include the stories previously published as Boss of the World, The Tricky Tooth, Goodbye to Goldie, and Katie Goes Camping.

I received a digital ARC of Katie Woo Rules the School from Netgalley. 

For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.

NOTE ADDED 10/26/12: This book was nominated for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Easy Reader/Early Chapter Book category. I am a first-round panelist in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!