Mysteries arise, answers are to be found
The world is full of secrets that must be uncovered: How do people become friends? How do they stay that way? How do you repair a damaged friendship, or hold on to a changing one? Also, what’s the best material for crafting a fake booger? This summer, a fine collection of fiction and nonfiction books offer a peek behind the curtains of friendship (and other crucial parts of life), filled with life lessons, inspiration, advice and the occasional handy tip.
“Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer” by Gillian Goerz. ( Ages 8 to12. Dial Books for Young Readers. $20.99.)
Gillian Goerz’s debut graphic novel begins with a bouncing basketball, as Jamila Waheed, facing a lonely, boring summer in a new neighborhood, dribbles her way into a neighborhood yard sale and runs into Shirley Bones. There’s no doubt that Shirley is odd — a Sherlock-like kid detective, she seems to need nothing but the thrill of solving neighborhood mysteries. In short order, Shirley appears to have masterminded a plan to get Jamila out of the house so she can play basketball on nearby courts, while Shirley continues to see clients. As with Shirley’s detective work, however, there is much more going on than meets the eye. “As the days went by I got more and more curious about my new … friend?” Jamila notes. “We weren’t quite friends, but I didn’t know a better word.” What unfolds is not just a mystery about a missing gecko but a well-observed story about the need for friendship and the many ways it can unfold. As Jamila bounces from apathy to curiosity to anger to understanding, she discovers she has underestimated not just Shirley, but also her mother, her big brother Farooq, and neighborhood characters embroiled in the mystery du jour — and realizes how complex a job it is to build and care for a friendship.
“Everything You Need to Know When You Are 8” and “Everything You Need to Know When You Are 9” by Kirsten Miller, illustrated by Ellen Duda. ( Ages 8 to 9 and beyond. Amulet Books. $12.99.)
Where Goerz’s graphic novel creates a tangled web of friendships and misunderstandings, Kirsten Miller’s sweet and silly advice books take a give-it-to-mestraight approach to the crucial questions of elementary-age kids. In addition to their gleeful embrace of the gross (one has a multipage spread about different consistencies of poop), Miller’s books for 8- and 9-year-olds offer wonderfully sane and sympathetic advice about “How to make new friends,” “What to do if someone can’t stand you,” “How to say you’re sorry,” and “What to do when you meet someone ‘different.’ ” On the topic of bullying, Miller simply says: “It’s your job as a decent human being to make it stop,” and of seeking out friends of all sorts, she notes, “Friends are a lot like buried treasure: You’re never going to find them unless you start looking!” Of course, there are plenty of other hot takes (and lively illustrations by Ellen Duda) on such upper-elementary concerns as “How to convince adults that you’re super mature,” “How to pick your favorite monster,” “How to fart in public” and “So, what’s in snot anyways?” Refreshingly funny and matter-of-fact about problems large and small, Goerz’s guides are great reading for young people (and their grown-ups).