Bibsy Cross and the Bad Apple

by Liz Garton Scanlon, Dung Ho (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet Bibsy Cross, the precocious eight-year-old heroine of this charming chapter book series, as she navigates a relationship with a teacher who thinks that Bibsy is just too much.

Most things are easy-peasy, regular-pegular for Bibsy Cross. She loves her parents, her cat, her best friend, Natia. And she loves going to school. She might just love that most of all!

This year, Bibsy has Mrs. Stumper for a teacher... and Mrs. Stumper doesn't seem too keen on Bibsy. She thinks Bibsy talks too much—especially about her science fair project.

But one day, when Bibsy talks a little too much, and goes a stone too far, Mrs. Stumper punishes her by punching a hole in her paper apple that hangs in the classroom. And Bibsy is devastated.

How can she make the best science fair project when she feels so rotten?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593644409
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Series:	Bibsy Cross , #1
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	564,284
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of nearly 20 beloved picture books, including All the World, which received a Caldecott Honor and which School Library Journal called "perfection" in a starred review. Her other picture books include I Want a Boat! and Thank You, Garden, as well as the upcoming The World's Best Class Plant (May 2023.) Scanlon is on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a frequent and popular presenter at schools, festivals and conferences. She lives in Austin, Texas. Bibsy Cross is her first chapter book.

Dung Ho is the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling picture book Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, which was featured in Forbes, Oprah Daily, The Cut, and Book Riot. It also received three starred reviews and was a School Library Journal, Bank Street, and Kirkus Best Book of the Year. Dung also illustrated its companion picture book, Eyes that Speak to the Stars. She studied graphic design at the Hue University College of Arts and then worked in the design and advertising industry before pivoting to illustration. Born and raised in Hue, Vietnam, Dung now lives in Ho Chi Minh City.

Editorial Reviews

★ "[A] poignant depiction of a child coming to terms with an uncomprehending adult, a trajectory that takes Bibsy from befuddlement to despair to speaking truth to power." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Pitch-perfect writing, a charming protagonist, and relatable conflict—what more could readers ask for?" —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This new early chapter-book series starter offers readers a likable protagonist, believable problems, short chapters, and frequent artwork." —Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 03/11/2024

Ebullient eight-year-old Bibsy Cross loved everything about her life until she landed in Mrs. Stumper’s class. The teacher “thinks Bibsy talks too much, which isn’t true. She’s just a third grader with a whole lot to say.” Mrs. Stumper sighs whenever Bibsy speaks up in class, labels what she perceives as Bibsy’s inability to keep quiet as “a stone too far”—a phrase that becomes the book’s refrain—and ultimately punches a “worm” hole in the paper apple that represents Bibsy on the class tree, declaring Bibsy’s behavior as “rotten.” In spare, emphatic verse, Scanlon (Everyone Starts Small) writes, “It’s not a real wound, but it feels like one.” The story, punctuated by warmhearted spot cartooning by Ho (Tala Learns to Siva), highlights Bibsy’s supportive homelife and the development of a school science fair project with Bibsy’s best friend that shows the protagonist at her creative best. But the narrative’s real power comes from its poignant depiction of a child coming to terms with an uncomprehending adult, a trajectory that takes Bibsy from befuddlement to despair to speaking truth to power. Bibsy is rendered with pale skin, brown hair, and green eyes on the cover. Ages 7–10. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2024-04-05
Trouble with an insensitive teacher threatens an enthusiastic 8-year-old’s love of school in this series starter.

Third grade looks rocky for Bibsy Cross. For the first time, she and her best friend, Natia, aren’t in the same class. And Bibsy’s new teacher, Mrs. Stumper, seems to sigh with irritation every time Bibsy raises her hand. Granted, Bibsy has a tendency to “go on” just “a stone too far,” as her teacher puts it. But Bibsy has a such a font of interesting information and a yen to share it! Mrs. Stumper indicates her displeasure by moving the paper apple bearing Bibsy’s name to the bottom of the bulletin board. The teacher grows increasingly exasperated until the dreadful Wednesday when the apple isn’t just plucked, but hole-punched. On Friday, Bibsy will have to take her apple home to be signed by her parents. Garton’s prose is marked by whimsy, enchanting turns of phrase, and an intuitive understanding of how children perceive the world. Bibsy’s empathy (she worries for a classmate whose apple is often grounded) and her willingness to make the best of a bad situation (or to turn “sours” sweet, in Bibsy’s words) make her a winsome protagonist. Gracefully composed, two-color illustrations and line breaks make for even faster page-turning. Bibsy and Mrs. Stumper appear light-skinned in the art; Natia presents Black.

Pitch-perfect writing, a charming protagonist, and relatable conflict—what more could readers ask for? (Chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews