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As the mother of a spirited little girl, I’m always on the lookout for books about kids who stand out—who do things their own way—and make a difference. And in Shelley Johannes’s Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, we’ve found the perfect little spirited heroine.
The story introduces Beatrice, a little girl who tends to do things differently—who does her best thinking when she’s sitting (or hanging) upside down. As second grade comes to an end, she comes up with a brilliant new plan—one that she’s eager to launch with her best friend, Lenny, on the first day of the new school year. But when she shows up for school in her best ninja suit, as planned, and Lenny returns from her summer vacation looking (and acting) nothing like the same old Lenny, Beatrice is left scrambling to figure out how to survive the new school year.
Beatrice has an imagination that’s every bit as active as she is—and while not everyone will relate to this eccentric kid who likes hanging from trees in her favorite ninja costume, my daughter sure could. She’s such a lovable character—a little girl who can’t always sit still, who looks at things from a completely different perspective, and who (most importantly) has a huge heart. Other characters don’t always understand her—her mom and sister wish she could be a little more normal—but there’s so much to learn from this inspiring, adventurous little girl.
On her challenging first day of third grade, Beatrice has to learn some difficult lessons about friendship. Sometimes, kids change. Sometimes, friends disappoint you or hurt your feelings. Sometimes, they decide that they want to play new games and make new friends. And that’s not always easy to handle. But as Beatrice goes through the day, she uses all of her skills as an upside down thinker to regroup, compromise, be a good friend, and come up with new ideas that help to make everyone happy in the end.
If you know a kid who’s a little more active, more adventurous, more upside down than others, you’ll both love Beatrice and her story. She’s a wonderful character with some lessons to teach young readers. And, throughout it all, she’ll remind you that it’s okay to be yourself—and it’s good to let others be themselves, too.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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