I've heard there are TWO sides to every story - maybe even THREE

by kiya@evpl on Wednesday, September 17 2008, 4:07pm. Viewed 786 times.
EVPL Blogs » Blogs » Kids Blog » I've heard there are TWO sides to every story - maybe even THREE

cover of Millicent Min bookMillicent Min is having a bad summer -

  • 1. Her mom signed her up for volleyball
  • 2. Her grandmother is about to move away
  • 3. She doesn't really have friends, though Emily is a possibility
  • 4. She has to tutor awful Stanford Wong
  • 5. Her mother might be really sick

 

 

Or maybe Stanford Wong is having a bad summer -  cover of Stanford Wong book

  1. He flunked English and has to go to summer school
  2. His dad canceled Basketball Camp (see #1)
  3. His parents are fighting, and his dad works too much
  4. He has to be tutored by that geek genius, Millicent Min
  5. His grandmother has to move to a retirement home
  6. He likes Emily, but she's always hanging around Millicent

 

 Emily's summer starts out bad, but it might be improving -

cover Emily Ebers book

    • 1. Her parents split, and she and her mom are moving across the country Stick out tongue
    • 2. She misses her dad a lot Sad
    • 3. Her dad sends her a credit card - for emergencies only...Yes
    • 4. Her mom signs her up for volleyball Hmm, but she meets Millicent there Confused
    • 5. Millicent knows this cute guy Stanford Smile, but something doesn't ring true Hmm
    • 6. Her dad doesn't think needing ice cream after volleyball is an emergency No

 

 

 Lisa Yee wrote Millicent Min, Girl Genius in 2003. It won lots of awards. She wanted to write a book about a girl who was lonely, so she chose a character who was very smart, and in school with much older kids.

Three years later, Yee's 10 year old daughter said she hated boys. Yee decided to write a book from a boy's point of view, and show that they were okay, just sometimes different from girls. She decided to tell the story of that same summer that was in Millicent's book, only from Stanford's point of view, in Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time.

Her readers loved it, and asked for a book that showed how Emily saw that summer, too. Yee followed up with So Totally Emily Ebers, which came out this spring.

It's fun to see the same events from different points of view. Do you know other books like this?

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Comments (2)

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UndergroundLibrarian@evpl wrote
on Thursday, September 18 2008, 9:59am

Mary Stolz wrote a set of books like this many years ago.  The first is A Dog On Barkham Street.  It is told from Edward Frost's point of view.  He lives next door to a bully named Martin, and he can't figure out how to stay away from him. He even  suggests to his mother that they move to Alaska.  EVPL doesn't own this book any more and it's out of print, but you can read the first page on  amazon.com and order a used copy there.

www.amazon.com/.../ref=nb_ss_gw

Then later Mary Stolz wrote about Martin Hastings during the same time period, in The Bully of Barkham Street.  Turns out he had lots of problems of his own. This book is available on amazon, com also: www.amazon.com/.../ref=nb_ss_gw

When I read these books years ago,I really appreciated their different viewpoints of the same situation.  

kiya@evpl wrote
on Friday, September 19 2008, 9:34am

The Mary Stolz Barkham Street books were landmark books for me. When I read the second book, and knew Martin better, I finally understood the point of "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," and what that could teach you.

I was sorry to find those books are out of print. I hope other authors will continue to provide that lesson to young readers.