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A review by katykelly
A Moon Girl Stole My Friend, Volume 1 by Rebecca Patterson
4.0
Futuristic friendship story, an imagination-enhancing setting.
There are plenty of stories for children about growing up and finding your friends change around you. Here, the setting makes this a very memorable version on the theme, with Lyla living nearly a hundred years in the future, on an Earth where you can change weather in the playground at the touch of a button, stickers can walk across walls and pets are robots that obey commands.
Lyla is looking forward to her best friend's birthday party, but is shocked to find her place has been taken by the new girl, newly arrived from the moon colony. The new girl is sophisticated and looks down her nose at Lyla, encouraging her best friend to do the same. Avoiding their hurtful comments one lunchtime, she finds a loose board that leads to the house next to the school, and to an adventure that might just give Lyla confidence in herself as well as a new and unexpected friend.
I've read several of Patterson's illustrated picture books to my boys in the past, and always found she has a knack for the young child's perspective. Here is no different - the 10 year old girl's obsessions and ways of thinking are well expressed, and the world she creates for Lyla, her family and schoolfriends is easy to picture, and full of amazing, imagination-enhancing ideas.
Of course there is the bully/new girl, the smitten best friend, and there's also a school rebel who shows Lyla what friendship can be about while providing some comic relief from her angst. We also get the eccentric recluse living next to the school who gives Lyla a way to prove what she's really worth, this character was a bit of a stereotype really, though young readers will still enjoy the storyline.
This was an easy read for an independent reader aged 7-10, girls will probably be more inclined towards the story, full of female characters, though I'll still give it a try with my eldest boy. It's illustrated throughout and the setting makes this a book that will capture interest.
There are plenty of stories for children about growing up and finding your friends change around you. Here, the setting makes this a very memorable version on the theme, with Lyla living nearly a hundred years in the future, on an Earth where you can change weather in the playground at the touch of a button, stickers can walk across walls and pets are robots that obey commands.
Lyla is looking forward to her best friend's birthday party, but is shocked to find her place has been taken by the new girl, newly arrived from the moon colony. The new girl is sophisticated and looks down her nose at Lyla, encouraging her best friend to do the same. Avoiding their hurtful comments one lunchtime, she finds a loose board that leads to the house next to the school, and to an adventure that might just give Lyla confidence in herself as well as a new and unexpected friend.
I've read several of Patterson's illustrated picture books to my boys in the past, and always found she has a knack for the young child's perspective. Here is no different - the 10 year old girl's obsessions and ways of thinking are well expressed, and the world she creates for Lyla, her family and schoolfriends is easy to picture, and full of amazing, imagination-enhancing ideas.
Of course there is the bully/new girl, the smitten best friend, and there's also a school rebel who shows Lyla what friendship can be about while providing some comic relief from her angst. We also get the eccentric recluse living next to the school who gives Lyla a way to prove what she's really worth, this character was a bit of a stereotype really, though young readers will still enjoy the storyline.
This was an easy read for an independent reader aged 7-10, girls will probably be more inclined towards the story, full of female characters, though I'll still give it a try with my eldest boy. It's illustrated throughout and the setting makes this a book that will capture interest.