Synopsis: The second in the Minn and Jake series, this free-verse novel follows the friends into summer - a summer apart! Jake is visiting old friends and family in California, while Minn is all the way across the country! How are they supposed to be best friends when they can’t chase lizards together? Luckily, before things get too bad, Jake finds out Minn is coming to visit and everything seems great, until they go to Disneyworld and the happiest place on earth suddenly isn't...Intended Audience: Boys and girls grades 3-5, likely those who have read the original Minn and Jake.
But it might also appeal to: Younger students as a read-aloud, or middle schoolers trying to forge friendships across that ever-frightening gender boundary.
Strengths: The style of the book - in verse - makes it accessible to newer readers and the images add a great deal of fun to the story. The message that friendship sometimes requires apologies is an important one for upper elementary and middle school students has they begin to have relationships outside of their families.
Weaknesses: Given that the novel is written in free verse, the author makes different style choices that readers of prose novels might not be used to: for example using italics instead of quotation marks to show who is speaking.
Special considerations: This is a companion to Minn and Jake. Not knowing the history of the friends made starting this one a big challenging, so it might be best to read this after the original!
Verdict: If the media center already has Minn and Jake, this would be an excellent addition as well -- its positive message about friendship, especially those between boys and girls, is valuable to kids of all ages! Wong’s unique style of free verse would also add to the diversity of any collection.
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