Keena Ford and the Secret Journal Mix-Up

by Melissa Thomson, Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Overview

The third book about the spunky second-grader, perfect for fans of Ramona Quimby, Junie B. Jones, and Frankly, Frannie!

Keena Ford loves writing in her journal. She keeps all of her thoughts in there, even if they are sometimes not-so-nice. One day, Keena accidentally leaves her journal in Tiffany Harris's apartment, and Tiffany tells Keena that she's going to tell all of Keena's secrets! With help from her brother, some classic fables, and a visiting author, Keena discovers what she must do to stand up to Tiffany and make things right with her friends.

"Young readers will relate to her friendship dilemma and appreciate her vibrant personality. Readers of Sharon Draper's Sassy series will enjoy meeting Keena." - School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142419373
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/15/2011
Series:	Keena Ford , #3
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	118,747
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Melissa Thomson is an elementary school teacher in New York City where she lives with her husband, Pete, and their three plants. Melissa began her teaching career at Emery Elementary School in Washington, DC. Her students at Emery inspired her to write about Keena Ford.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1–3—Second-grader Keena Ford keeps a journal full of her thoughts about her friends and her family. When it falls into the hands of the resident mean girl, she risks having her secrets spill out unless she does whatever Tiffany commands. To make things more awkward, Keena must write a speech about friendship when an author comes to her school. She really wants to write about her best friend, Linny, instead of Tiffany. She has to choose between being stuck with her nemesis and coming clean about what she's been writing in her journal. Her single mother has even more on her mind as Keena's brother gets into trouble at school. The story is written in journal style, with Keena describing daily events. Young readers will relate to her friendship dilemma and appreciate her vibrant personality. Morrison's occasional full-page drawings capture the interactions of the children and are great at depicting their facial expressions. Readers of Sharon Draper's "Sassy" series (Scholastic) will enjoy meeting Keena.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH

School Library Journal

Keena and her friends are back—still in second grade, and Keena is still keeping a journal. Something is different with it, though. Her special clouds-and-rainbows journal has been taken by the very mean Tiffany, who is using its contents to blackmail Keena into being her friend. Keena does not see a way out of her predicament until her brother helps her find a solution. The journal format seems particularly strained in this third installment of the series, and Keena's observations are uneven—calling Tiffany a "muffinhead" at one turn, then telling a long fable, complete with a moral, and then, a few moments later, not knowing how many TV shows take place in 30 minutes. All the action takes place and is recorded in a four-day period—quite an accomplishment for a second grader. While readers will be glad that Keena discovers that friends can actually be related to you, the surprisingly adult voice of second grader Keena and quick resolution of a real problem will strain credulity. (Chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews