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Summary
Summary
Every girl should grow up with Alice, and with this irresistible new look, a whole new generation will want to.
Alice and Patrick are getting married! Well, sort of. It's all part for her eighth grade health class. But, this is a piece of wedding cake compared to some of her friends' assignments where they have to role play being pregnant or being caught shoplifting. The biggest challenge of all, though, is just growing up--and this health unit is showing that it doesn't get any easier! Who decided that life was a never ending obstacle course, anyway?
Author Notes
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana on January 4, 1933. She received a bachelor's degree from American University in 1963. Her first children's book, The Galloping Goat and Other Stories, was published in 1965. She has written more than 135 children and young adult books including Witch's Sister, The Witch Returns, The Bodies in the Bessledorf Hotel, A String of Chances, The Keeper, Walker's Crossing, Bernie Magruder and the Bats in the Belfry, Please Do Feed the Bears, and The Agony of Alice, which was the first book in the Alice series. She has received several awards including the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Night Cry and the Newberry Award for Shiloh.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
(Picture Book) Using white painted collages against the vivid blues of the sky, Eric Carle tells the story of a little cloud that transforms itself into different shapes - a sheep, an airplane, a shark, and a clown - before rejoining the other clouds in the sky to make rain. A delightful invitation to a child's imagination. h.b.z. Alison Lester, Author-Illustrator When Frank Was Four (Picture Book) This simple, humorous book follows seven children from the ages of one to seven, highlighting the small trials and the accomplishments of each along the way. "When Nicky was one she spilled spaghetti on her head. Frank bit the dog. Tessa took her first steps. Celeste ate the cat food. Ernie banged the pots and pans. And Rosie said 'Horse.' / But Clive smashed the china at his Great Grandmother's birthday party." The lively watercolors and delicate black line capture the spirit of each situation. Another delightful celebration of individualism from the creator of Clive Eats Alligators (Houghton). l.a. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Alice in Lace (Intermediate) For a class project on decision-making, Alice and her boyfriend, Patrick, must pretend that they are engaged. They have to plan a wedding and a honeymoon and budget for a first apartment. As in the other books in the series, Alice is a frank, funny heroine struggling with contemporary issues. Much of the book deals with Alice's and her classmates' emerging curiosity about their sexuality - they wonder what a wedding night is like and dress up in what they hope is sexy attire to serve Alice's brother breakfast in bed. m.v.k. Ken Robbins, Author-Photographer Air: The Elements (Younger) The third book in this series is graced with imaginative, thought-provoking hand-colored photographs and eloquent descriptions of fundamental atmospheric processes, such as air circulation, oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles, and ozone depletion. Robbins laces together a concise, fact-filled text with an understated, commonsense approach to respecting our environment. daniel j. brabander Jane Yolen, Reteller Little Mouse and Elephant: A Tale from Turkey Jane Yolen, Reteller The Musicians of Bremen: A Tale from Germany (Picture Book) Illustrated by John Segal. Two charming little books of folktales contain retellings of the familiar "Musicians of Bremen," a favorite tale needing no description, and the lesser-known "Little Mouse and Elephant." In the latter, Little Mouse is convinced that he is the strongest animal around and the master of the forest. His grandfather points out that Elephant perhaps may claim that title and sends Little Mouse out to see for himself. By sheer good luck, Little Mouse convinces himself that indeed the other animals fear him, even Elephant, and returns home firm in his ridiculous conviction. The two stories are simply and skillfully told, and the illustrations are childlike and humorous. Small pleasures for the young listener. a.a.f. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-8. What happens if you get pregnant? What happens if you're caught shoplifting? How much does a wedding cost? Alice's eighth-grade health class is studying Critical Choices: investigating and role-playing "how the choices you make now can affect the rest of your life." The latest in Naylor's wonderful series about Alice is more didactic than usual: like Anne Fine's Flour Babies (1994), the story openly explores such issues as unplanned, unwanted pregnancy and how babies can begin--and end--dreams. There's a contrived subplot in which an angry girl in the class falsely accuses the teacher of sexual harassment; but for most of the story, Alice's comic, affectionate narrative captures the bumblings and failures and intimacies of growing up female now. As Alice and her classmates try out adult roles, it's a bit like playing house and dress-up; it's also very clear that lack of planning can mean serious trouble. The message is all the more convincing because it isn't simplistic. Naylor is honest--you can't control everything that happens to you, nor would you want to. --Hazel Rochman
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8In this newest stage of Alice's journey to adulthood, the appealing heroine begins eighth grade with a million questions and few answers. Her health teacher, Mr. Everett, has assigned the members of the class various real-life scenarios to investigate and come to terms with. Some of Alice's friends are facing teenage pregnancy, shoplifting, totaling a car, and arranging a funeral. Alice and her friend Patrick are to plan their wedding, honeymoon, find an apartment, and buy furniture on a very limited budget. With her great sense of humor, Naylor once again captures the true turmoil of adolescence. The awkward feelings and questions about budding bodies and an awareness of the opposite sex are handled in a true-to-life but lighthearted and sensitive manner. Some questions go unanswered, but life will eventually fill in those blanks. Naylor obviously has fun exploring friendship, family, relationships, and even love. With all of these issues permeating the story, Alice and her friends are a little more serious than in previous titles, but readers will still find plenty to laugh at and cheer about. Alice in Lace leaves readers wanting to see where life will take Alice next but still hoping that she won't grow up too fast.Tracey Kroll, Brookland Middle School, Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An eighth-grade health class assignment gets Alice McKinley and friends thinking about choices and consequences in this eighth installment of one of the best series running. Each student is handed a hypothetical situation that must be handled as if it were real: Alice and Patrick are to marry, honeymoon, and set up a home on $5,000; Pamela is pregnant; other classmates have to buy a car, arrange a funeral, and the like. For Alice, who already suspects that life is an ""obstacle course, with detours, yield signs, stop signs, and cautions,"" the assignment turns out to be fraught with eye-opening difficulties and tough decisions. Naylor (Alice the Brave, 1995, etc.) delivers Alice's observations in her usual direct way, surrounding them with hilarious dialogue, plus new episodes in the love lives of Alice's father and older brother. When a willful classmate mendaciously accuses a teacher of making a pass, and a neighbor goes into labor, Alice finds herself in challenging situations that are anything but hypothetical--and comes through with flying colors. Pleasure and purpose are seamlessly combined in this comic, expertly crafted episode. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.