Carrie's Crowd [Paperback]

Gr 3-4-Two beginning chapter books from Canada that focus on the importance of making good decisions when dealing with friends. Lilly shuns a clumsy, accident-prone schoolmate until the two of them work together to save a kitten. A friendship develops when both girls realize that first impressions can change. Carrie has the opposite experience. Giselle, a member of the "in" crowd, befriends her. Only after Carrie samples Giselle's rudeness and lack of respect for people and property does she realize how lucky she is to have Laura, a friend she has ignored while hanging out with Giselle. Although slight, the stories involve realistic situations and will make good starting points for classroom discussions centered on interpersonal relationships. Black-and-white line drawings bring out some of the emotions described in the texts. Teachers doing units on tolerance, resiliency, and decision making will find that these titles integrate nicely.-Cheryl Cufari, Glencliff Elementary School, Niskayuna, NY

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"A brisk story about a rollerblading girl with social ambitions. This book is written in a style that conveys the youth-speak of the YTV generation." (Resource Links )

"In this fine chapter book, award-winning author Lesley Choyce examines the sometimes horrific life of a 'tween'...

Mark Thurman's comical illustrations add their own humorous touch. Highly recommended." (Steve Pitt Canadian Book Review Annual )

Carrie dreams about being a singer and starring in music videos. She dreams about being a kid that everybody likes, especially cool kids like Giselle and Kirsten with their cool clothes, their cool music, their saucy attitude.

Tired of being called a geek, Carrie picks out new clothes, a new hairdo, and new friends, leaving her bookish pal Laura behind. But when her new friends turn on her, Carrie learns there's more to life than looking cool.

Carrie's Crowd is a story about the effects of peer pressure on a girl's life, and the strength required to overcome it.

LESLEY CHOYCE is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach in Nova Scotia. A former grand champion of the Men's Open Canadian National Surfing Championships he surfs on the Atlantic coast year-round along with running a literary publishing house and teaching English at Dalhousie University. He also has a regular nationally-broadcast program on Vision TV called Off the Page with Lesley Choyce. He is the author of more than fifty books of poetry fiction and non-fiction for adults and children including Carrie's Crowd and Go For It Carrie. His writing has earned him several awards including two Dartmouth Book Awards and the Ann Connor Brimer Award for the Young Adult novel Good Idea Gone Bad. Five of his previous Formac novels have received the Canadian Children's Book Centre's "Our Choice" Award. The Ottawa Citizen calls him "a national treasure."

MARK THURMAN is a writer and ilustrator living half the year in Toronto and the other half in Owen Sound, Ontario. He has written and illustrated over 25 books for children, including the series Douglas the Elephant.