The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

by Justin Roberts, Christian Robinson (Illustrator)

Overview

Hardly anyone noticed young Sally McCabe.
She was the smallest girl in the smallest grade.
 
But Sally notices everything—from the twenty-seven keys on the janitor’s ring to the bullying happening on the playground. One day, Sally has had enough and decides to make herself heard. And when she takes a chance and stands up to the bullies, she finds that one small girl can make a big difference.

Grammy-nominated children’s musician Justin Roberts, together with vibrant artwork from award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson, will have readers cheering for young Sally McCabe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698171589
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/04/2014
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Grammy-nominated Justin Roberts is an all-star of the family music scene. Hailed by the New York Times as “the Judy Blume of kiddie rock,” he logs thousands of miles on the road each year, dishing out unexpectedly intelligent and fun rocking music for kids and their parents. Justin lives in Illinois. Visit Justin at www.justinrobertsmusic.com.
 
 
Christian Robinson is an illustrator of picture books living and working in San Francisco. He studied at the California Institute of the Arts. He has worked with Pixar Animation Studios, The Sesame Street Workshop, and Jib Jab. Visit Christian at www.theartoffun.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade:

“This effective rhyming book by kiddie-rock star Roberts takes on the subjects of bullying, teasing, and excluding others… This is a serious topic given serious treatment, and it should be ideal for initiating discussions.”—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

This is a ballad, really, about the power of one small person to fight injustice…Robinson's colored-pencil illustrations give this inspiring story an appropriately childlike style.

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Harrison Smith

06/02/2014
No one notices tiny Sally McCabe, but she is “paying super extra special attention” to everything around her—and what she sees is an epidemic of bullying, brusqueness, and cruelty in her school (“She saw Kevin McKuen get pushed off the slide—/ and the oncoming tears that he wanted to hide”). So Sally takes a stand, Norma Rae–style, in the lunchroom: “I’m tired of seeing this terrible stuff,” she proclaims, sticking her finger emphatically in the air. “Stop hurting each other! This is enough!” Children’s musician Roberts can pour it on a little thick (“She’d seen how a whisper could make someone cower/ like a bulldozer crushing through fields of wildflowers”), but his premise should strike a chord with an age group that has a strong sense of injustice, and Sally’s big moment is genuinely inspiring. (The story is adapted from Roberts’s song “Billy the Bully.”) He’s also well served by Robinson’s (Gaston) naïf, colored pencil drawings, which have a poignant expressiveness and the emotional directness of real schoolroom art. Ages 3–5. Author’s agency: Davey Literary & Media. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade:

“This effective rhyming book by kiddie-rock star Roberts takes on the subjects of bullying, teasing, and excluding others… This is a serious topic given serious treatment, and it should be ideal for initiating discussions.”—Booklist

From the Publisher