This latest installment in one of my favorite chapter book series places its heroine at the center of a life event lots of little girls dream about - a wedding. Grace won’t get to be the flower girl for her special friend and neighbor Augustine Dupre, when she marries the UPS delivery man, but everyone assures Grace that she will have her own special job. While she waits for her assignment, Grace devises a special gift for Augustine Dupre - she and her friends will train Crinkles the cat to walk down the aisle.
As always, Charise Mericle Harper uses lots of humor and heart to relate Grace’s story. Even when her actions are completely misguided, Grace always has her heart in the right place, and readers can easily enjoy the antics that ensue from her off-the-wall ideas. Readers who have followed the series from the beginning will recognize lots of characters from previous books and hints at previous plot lines, and of course, all the wonderful little drawings that add such charm and character to every page.
I think it’s too bad that this book is packaged so obviously as a girl book - based on the bells and flowers on the front cover and Grace’s pink accessories - because the subplot would actually appeal to both boys and girls. Under the guidance of a creative teacher, Grace and her friends learn how to write comics and cartoons, and they compile them into a class book. Graphic novels are hugely popular these days, and I think all kids would enjoy reading the characters’ comics and trying to make their own. In fact, if I do a library program with graphic novels, I might use this book as a kind of introduction.
Just Grace and the Flower Girl Power will appeal to girls who love to dress up and feel fancy, and especially to girls who dream of being, or will be, flower girls in weddings. For a similar story about a girl witnessing a wedding, read Mallory on Board by Laurie Friedman.
I borrowed Just Grace and the Flower Girl Power from my local public library.
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