Starring Jules #1: Starring Jules (as herself) - Hardcover

Ain, Beth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545443520 ISBN 13: 9780545443524

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2013

Synopsis

Lights! Camera! Action! A new chapter book star is on the rise!

Things to Know About Meby Jules Bloom1. I am a scrambled-eggs-and-chocolate-milk type person. 2. I have an audition for a TV commercial (which would be great if I were a tall-icy-drink type person.)3. I am in between best friends right now.4. I am worried that the audition will be a disaster. (See #1 and #3!)Jules doesn't want to ruin THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME, and she's willing to turn to anyone for help--even her know-it-all ex-best friend! If only that lovely new girl in class would turn out to be the new best friend of her dreams, maybe, just maybe, Jules will be ready for her close-up....

About this title

About the Author

A Pennsylvania girl at heart, Beth Ain fell in love with life in New York City, and she loves trying to capture the essence of family life there. Thankfully, she now has the benefits of both city and small town life, having settled in Port Washington, NY, where she lives very happily with her husband and their two kids.

Reviews

Gr 2-4-Readers who can't wait for the next Clementine, Gooney Bird, or Judy Moody will be pleased to meet feisty seven-year-old Jules Bloom. She and her family are in a restaurant when a casting director invites her to audition for a mouthwash commercial. Jules works hard to learn her lines and worries about all the things that could go wrong. She tries to make new friends while inadvertently patching things up with her ex-best friend. Her greatest challenge comes when she learns that the mouthwash has an orange flavor, which she detests. Of course everything works out, and Important Lessons about friendship and life are learned. The child's lively voice will hold the attention of young readers, but she often sounds older than seven. The large-print text is interspersed with cheery line drawings; Jules's lists, such as "Things I will NOT do at my audition: 1. Burp into the microphone when I mean to sing into the microphone"; and playful chapter titles like "Take Six: promising playdates, spaghetti with peanut butter, and other distractions."-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AKα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Second-grader Jules lives in a NYC apartment with her parents and little brother, Big Henry. She already knows life can take funny turns—her best friend, Charlotte, has dumped her. Then things change again: (1) A new girl from England, Elinor, joins the class and has best-friend potential; (2) Jules is spotted by a talent agent and asked to audition for a commercial. (Note: Jules likes to make numbered lists, which appear in hand-lettering throughout the book.) But this bubble of excitement deflates when Jules learns the product she might be promoting is orange mouthwash. And anything orange-tasting makes her throw up. Even for a sophisticated New Yorker, Jules seems several years older than seven, and whether somewhat-older kids will want to read down is always a question. Still, Jules is a bouncy-enough heroine, and readers will respond to both the friendship issues always in play as well as the possibility of stardom on the horizon. And the horizon, of course, is the upcoming sequel. Illustrations not seen. Grades 1-3. --Ilene Cooper

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"You know what?" Charlotte says. "I think you are kidding and that you are not at all allergic to those things. I think you just don't really want my help and what I think is that you are never going to get that commercial, Jules Bloom, and it serves you right, anyway, for dumping a superstar best friend like me in the first place." "I did not dump you, Charlotte!" I say louder than I usually speak. "You dumped me when you and the ABC's started whispering to each other about fancy towels at fancy hotels, which is exactly when you started liking lip gloss more than swing sets!" "Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place?!? And maybe you're the one who likes swing sets more than lip gloss, and who says that's better anyway?!" Charlotte shouts back. Then she stomps away, and Brynn and Abby follow. I stare at her for a long time after she walks away, and even though she said a lot of things, I can only think about the part she said about me not getting the commercial. "She's probably right," I say. "About what?" Elinor asks. "I won't get the commercial," I say. "No way," Teddy says. "There has to be a scientific solution to this problem. I'll work on it and get back to you tomorrow." "We'll figure it out, Jules," Elinor says. "I'm just excited that I've only lived in New York for a week and I already know an actress!" "Who?" I ask. "Me or Charlotte?" At this, Teddy and Elinor crack up and we spend the rest of recess digging for worms that never come to the surface.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545443520
• ISBN 13: 9780545443524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160