Starring Grace

by Mary Hoffman

Book Overview

A chapter bookk sequel to New York Times bestseller and finalist Kate Greenaway Medal, Amazing Grace and Boundless Grace . School's out . . . and of course that means it's time for fun Grace and her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142300225
• ISBN13: 9780142300220
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

This Book Is a Star - Five of 'em, Actually

Grace, a confident, happy, and imaginative little girl many of us have come to know and love from "Amazing Grace" and "Boundless Grace" is back! This time, however, we are treated to a chapter book, which is both good and bad news. The "bad" news is that the wonderful illustrations of the first two books are reduced to an occasional black-and-white sketch; OK, this reviewer will admit he has been spoiled! The good news is that readers of Mary Hoffman's earlier books ready to move on to the challenge of a chapter book have this new volume. Needless to say, the good far outweighs the bad. "Starring Grace" continues the theme of how Grace excels, thanks to her perserverence, confidence, and support from a loving mother. School is out, and Grace and a handful of her friends who are unable to be afforded the luxury of summer camp have to find ways to keep themselves occupied. First, the children imagine the old house behind Grace's backyard is haunted and that its reclusive owner is a witch. When the elderly lady tells her surpising story, Grace and her friends realize she is not at all what she appears to be; they all become friends. However, the elderly lady's backyard, with its overgrowth of weeds sets the stage for the next adventure, a safari. Then, reaching for the stars, Grace imagines she is an astronaut, before returning to Earth as a doctor, just as she did in "Amazing Grace." After playing detective, Grace and her friends build a time machine; once again, Mrs. Myerson, the elderly lady, reveals important details of her life from which everyone learns. The book ends with Grace trying out for a role in a play, just as she did in the first book. This is a story told with great sensitivity, with several surprises and plot twists to make for entertaining reading. "Starring Grace" is a star - a gold star.

An exceptional "extension" to the award-winning picture book

What better way to elevate and captivate elementary readers than to provide them with a chapter book that utilizes a character familiar from the pre-school years!!! "Starring Grace" takes Grace to another level, a story rich in language and real-life situations. The book does not "talk down" to its reader; in fact, it uses vocabulary that is challenging and enlightening: troupe, megaphone, eccentric, conspirator, machete, paramedic, tibia, bougainvillea, and trilby, to list a few. It also presents concepts that can spurn discussion as well as enhance the reader's life experiences: witness protection, internment, and divorce. Grace's adventures also display cooperativeness and the power of a child's imagination. It also introduces the reader to events in history: the first landing on the moon and the horrors of World War II (implied). The problems of the elderly and that group remaining vital in their "declining years" are also addressed within this simple framework of good storytelling. And who would think that this would come from a book with such chapter titles as: "Grace and the Big Top", "Grace Goes on Safari", "Grace Blasts Off", and "Grace the Detective". I will, most definitely, be adding this one to my classroom library and my home. I recommend that you do the same.

1000% Grace

I liked when Grace goes next door and acts like she was in the jungle. That reminded me about when my sisters and I were exploring. I also like when she acted like she was at a circus because that reminded me of when my sisters and I were stacked on each others shoulders.K.L.

Starring Grace

I liked the book alot.I liked the book because it's summer and I like summer, and Grace plays alot of fun games. I would enjoy playing the same games she played. I like when Grace got flowers. She stared in a play for children. D.M.B

Great excellent 100% Starring Grace

I liked when Grace and her friends went to the other yardand pretended they were in the jungle.Because they gotsuppiles and stuffed animals and pretended they were real.At the end they pretended that the yard was a secrect garden and cleaned it up for the old woman. That is why I like the book.C.C.