Spirit Week Showdown (Magnificent Mya Tibbs Series #1)

by Crystal Allen, Eda Kaban (Illustrator)

Overview

A hilarious and spunky new heroine in the vein of Ramona the Pest and Clementine, from Crystal Allen—the acclaimed author of How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy. 

Nine-year-old cowgirl Mya Tibbs is boot-scootin’ excited for the best week of the whole school year—SPIRIT WEEK! She and her megapopular best friend Naomi Jackson even made a pinky promise to be Spirit Week partners so they can win the big prize: special VIP tickets to the Fall Festival.

But when the partner-picking goes horribly wrong, Mya gets paired with Mean Connie Tate—the biggest bully in school. And she can’t get out of it. Good gravy!

Now Naomi is “friend-ending” mad at Mya for breaking a promise—even though Mya couldn’t help it—and everyone at school is calling Mya names. Can Mya work with Mean Connie to win the VIP tickets, and get her best friend back?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062342348
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Series:	Magnificent Mya Tibbs Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	176,041
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Crystal Allen is the author of the middle grade novels How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy, The Laura Line, and the three books in the Magnificent Mya Tibbs series. Her many accolades include the Sid Fleischman Humor Award for The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: The Wall of Fame Game and induction into the Texas Institute of Letters. Crystal is also a committee member of The Brown Bookshelf, the codirector of Kindling Words East, and a faculty member of Highlights for Children. She lives in Texas with her husband, Reggie, and two sons, Phillip and Joshua. Visit her online at crystalallenbooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

Nuanced depictions of friendship coupled with larger-than-life and fully three-dimensional characters make this delightful book at once thoughtful and a riot to read.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Spunky, sweet hearted, and full of fun, Mya will have readers everywhere yelling ‘Yee-haw’!” — Varian Johnson, author of The Great Greene Heist

“[A] winning series debut.” — Booklist

“Endearing” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A big-hearted, high-spirited, cowboy-booted heroine…The story’s vivid small-town setting and memorable characters will have many readers looking forward to more Mya.” — Publishers Weekly

“Looking for a book that sparkles with laughter and heart? Yippee kai-yay—here it is! Mya’s search for a true, not-fake friend will tickle your giggle bone and lasso your ticker. Everyone but everyone should have a friend like the magnetic and magnificent Mya Tibbs.” — Tricia Springstubb, author of Moonpenny Island and Cody and the Fountain of Happiness

“In Spirit Week Showdown, earnest Mya, with her Texas charm and mounting friendship problems, kept me turning the pages all the way to the boo-yang cool finale. Trust me: you’ll want all your friends to read this one!” — Tracey Baptiste, author of The Jumbies, a School Library Journal selection

Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “This is a lively approach to an issue that’s come up recently in the news...and the historical aspect could help readers consider their own family lore that may not have made its way into written accounts.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Laura Dyson’s sweet, sassy voice draws you into this delightful story of self-discovery and acceptance, unwavering friendship and the deep roots of one amazing family.” — Donna Gephart, author of OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN

Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Crystal Allen shows us how our relatives, even the ones we’ve never met, sometimes have a way of gently weaving a path to exactly who we’re meant to be, our truest and best self.” — Kathryn Fitzmaurice-author of THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY

Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “Under all the braggadocio is a boy with a big heart, and from the first sentence Lamar will have readers hooked.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. ” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “The powerful mix of sibling rivalry, revenge, and hard-won redemption strengthens the perennial appeal of the naïve-underdog-makes-good plot; readers will come for the laughs and stay for the laughs.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “The tween book world has a new hero-Lamar Washington-as well as a brilliant new author who’s bound to win a Bubba-sized trophy herself!” — Neal Shusterman, author of THE SCHWA WAS HERE and BRUISER

From the Publisher

Looking for a book that sparkles with laughter and heart? Yippee kai-yay—here it is! Mya’s search for a true, not-fake friend will tickle your giggle bone and lasso your ticker. Everyone but everyone should have a friend like the magnetic and magnificent Mya Tibbs.

Tricia Springstubb

Endearing

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Laura Dyson’s sweet, sassy voice draws you into this delightful story of self-discovery and acceptance, unwavering friendship and the deep roots of one amazing family.

Donna Gephart

[A] winning series debut.

Booklist

Praise for HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY: “The tween book world has a new hero-Lamar Washington-as well as a brilliant new author who’s bound to win a Bubba-sized trophy herself!

Neal Shusterman

Endearing

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Praise for THE LAURA LINE: “Crystal Allen shows us how our relatives, even the ones we’ve never met, sometimes have a way of gently weaving a path to exactly who we’re meant to be, our truest and best self.

Kathryn Fitzmaurice-author of THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY

In Spirit Week Showdown, earnest Mya, with her Texas charm and mounting friendship problems, kept me turning the pages all the way to the boo-yang cool finale. Trust me: you’ll want all your friends to read this one!

Tracey Baptiste

Spunky, sweet hearted, and full of fun, Mya will have readers everywhere yelling ‘Yee-haw’!

Varian Johnson

10/26/2015
In this entertaining first book in the Magnificent Mya Tibbs series, African-American fourth-grader Mya dreams of becoming a cowgirl someday, but her immediate goal is winning her school’s Spirit Week. The two winners from each grade get VIP tickets to their Texas town’s fall festival, and Mya and her new best friend, Naomi, have their eyes on the prize. But when Mya is paired with class bully Connie and doesn’t push to swap partners, it drives a wedge between the two girls. Mya’s warm, loving family runs a farm and ranch store where Mya and her older brother, Nugget, help out. Like Mya, Nugget is struggling with friend troubles—in his case, wanting to become more popular. While Mya’s journey toward discovering what real friendship looks like is fairly conventional, Allen (The Laura Line) has created a big-hearted, high-spirited, cowboy-booted heroine (“The yippee is back in my ki-yay,” she thinks as things begin to look up). The story’s vivid small-town setting and memorable characters will have many readers looking forward to more from Mya. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

[A] winning series debut.

Booklist

11/01/2015
Gr 4–7—Fourth grader Mya is very excited about Spirit Week, since she and her best friend, pageant-winning Naomi, plan to win VIP tickets to the Fall Festival by showing the most spirit. When Mya is paired instead with "Mean" Connie and doesn't insist on changing partners, Naomi breaks off their friendship, calls Mya names, and vows to win the tickets herself. Mya is a quirky character who throws tall tales into conversations and often finds herself in trouble. Her initial reluctance in working with Connie is realistic, as is their eventual friendship, but Naomi's actions, especially in a past incident involving Connie, are at a level of meanness that seems much older than fourth grade. Mya's family is wonderful: her pregnant mother is very supportive, her father has Mya help at his business, and her brother suffers through his own friend issues. The Texas setting will be intriguing for readers in other parts of the country, although a bit more explanation about Mya's school would have been helpful in setting the scene. Mya is African American, and her classmates are realistically diverse. This series starter is ideal for readers who have matured past Sharon Draper's "Sassy" (Scholastic) or Anica Mrose Rissi's "Anna, Banana" (S. & S.) and are enjoying Leslie Margolis's Boys Are Dogs (Bloomsbury, 2008) or Lauren Myracle's Ten (Dutton, 2011). VERDICT The length, school activities, and emotional content seem more appropriate to middle school, so this novel will appeal to sophisticated elementary students.—Karen Yingling, Blendon Middle School

School Library Journal

★ 2015-10-06
Allen deftly explores the evolving friendships of Mya Tibbs as she and her Spirit Week partner compete for VIP tickets to the Fall Festival. Nine-year-old Mya loves cowgirls, the rodeo, and jewelry. The Fall Festival has all her favorite things! She and her new best friend, Naomi, are determined to win the tickets together, but to Mya's dismay, she draws Mean Connie as her Spirit Week partner. Mya is stuck. Can she keep her promise to help Naomi and be a good partner? Even as she writes a very funny story, Allen neither flatters nor vilifies any characters, instead letting each one grow and make mistakes. As Mya tries to make the best of the situation, she learns that Connie isn't so mean, that Naomi isn't so nice, and that she herself can be a better friend. The author showcases different types of friendship throughout the story: as Mya and Naomi fall out, Mya and Connie grow closer; Mya's brother, Nugget, tries to make friends with a jock, taking his nerdy best friend for granted in the process; and twins Starr and Skye find their sisterly bond tested when their loyalties are torn between Mya and Naomi. Nuanced depictions of friendship coupled with larger-than-life and fully three-dimensional characters make this delightful book at once thoughtful and a riot to read. (Fiction. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews