Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World

Who is Ida B. Applewood? She is a fourth grader like no other, living a life like no other, with a voice like no other, and her story will resonate long after you have put this book down. How does Ida B cope when outside forces—life, really—attempt to derail her and her family and her future? She enters her Black Period, and it is not pretty. But then, with the help of a patient teacher, a loyal cat and dog, her beloved apple trees, and parents who believe in the same things she does (even if they sometimes act as though they don't), the resilience that is the very essence of Ida B triumph...and Ida B. Applewood takes the hand that is extended and starts to grow up.

This first novel is both very funny and extraordinarily moving, and it introduces two shining stars—Katherine Hannigan and Ida B. Applewood.

Child Magazine

Ida B, an eccentric, homeschooled 9-year-old, seems to have an idyllic life. But then her mom becomes ill, and Ida B heads off to dreaded public school. She tells her story with impeccable comic timing and achingly honest emotions, and her resilience when life has "gone from just about righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong" will touch readers long after the book's happy ending. (Ages 8 to 12)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2004 >Child magazine