Meena Meets Her Match (The Meena Zee Books)

Graduates of the Ramona Quimby series will adore Meena Zee as she navigates the triumphs and challenges of family, friendship, and personal secrets in this charming middle grade debut.

Meena’s life is full of color. She wears vibrant clothes, eats every shade of the rainbow, and plucks eye-catching trash from the neighborhood recycling bins.

But when Meena’s best friend, Sofía, stops playing with her at recess and she experiences an unexpected and scary incident at breakfast, nothing can fight off the gray.

That’s when Meena comes up with a plan to create the BEST and most COLORFUL Valentine’s Day Box in the class. With the help of her cousin, Eli, and her stuffed zebra, Raymond, Meena discovers that the best way to break through the blah is to let her true colors shine.

At Meena’s age, Karla Manternach was a smudgy kid in tube socks. She once stopped an entire parade by running in front of a fire truck for candy. Karla liked every subject in school but always loved writing best of all. Today, she is a freelance writer who creates books for young readers. Karla lives with her family in small-town Wisconsin. Her favorite color is orange.