Book Reviews and More: Pardon Me - Courtney Sheinmel and Jennifer A. Bell

Thursday, 10 January 2019

Pardon Me - Courtney Sheinmel and Jennifer A. Bell - Stella Batts Book 3

Pardon Me
Stella Batts Book 3
Courtney Sheinmel (Author)
Jennifer A. Bell (Illustrator)
Sleeping Bear Press
ISBN 9781585361946
eISBN 9781627531108
ASIN B00DNJNJ7Q

My oldest daughter and I read all 10 Stella Batts books in 2016 and 2017. Back when we first started reading them, they were a real struggle for her. At that time I was reading two pages for every page she struggled through. Now she has read me the whole book in three sittings. It is a wonderful book and great series. Full review to follow. She loved these books and going back and rereading the series together is a lot of fun. And with a little over a year between when we last read them and now, it is amazing to see the progress in her ability and comprehension.

One of the strengths of this series is that the cooks can really be read in any order. My daughter and I jumped around when we read them the first time and we are doing so again this time. Now they do tell a continuous story, but each book has reminders of what went before. And the books are presented as through Stella is writing them herself. The first time we read them I only reviewed about half of the books, and Abby wrote her own review for a school project of book one, Stella Batts Needs a New Name. So as we reread the books together I will finish reviewing all the books in the series. But back to this specific book.

Stella Batts Pardon Me, is a book about friendship and about animals. It also has a great sub plot about misunderstandings. In this volume Stella is trying to find a new best friend. Willa has moved away, and because of something she overhears on the phone she assumes Willa no longer wants to be friends at all. There are also miscommunications between a child raised in Britain and the American students because of different language usage. Stella would also love a pet dog. But that seems unlikely. So, the story revolves around friendships both old and new.

The few illustrations spattered throughout the book add to the story. My girls love going over the pictures. And when there are group shots trying to figure out who is who. The pencil drawings by Jennifer Bell are wonderfully done and add a nice element to a chapter book at this level.

This is an excellent book in a wonderful series. I am loving having my oldest daughter read them to me and look forward to reading them again a third time in another year or two with my youngest daughter. The fact that I have already read it twice and am looking forward to reading it again speaks to the quality of the writing. The fact that my daughter is very excited about rereading this book and the series speaks to their staying power with children.

Courtney Sheinmel has written a wonderful book, in an excellent series. Fully endorsed by my reluctant reader and our whole family!