As If 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President (Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books 2008) by Donna Gephart is about seventh-grade Vanessa Rothrock who has a few wishes in life:
5. win the spelling bee;
4. discover her secret admirerer's identity;
3. receive a gift (the gift!) from the boob fairy;
2. snag another wink and phone call from Reginald;
1. keep Mom safe and out of the election.
It's easy to see why As If 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President won the 2009 Sid Fleishman Award presented at the SCBWI's national convention. The Sid Fleishman is the prestigious award granted to honor an author "whose work exemplifies the excellence of writing in the genre of humor." Translation: the book is snort-out-loud funny.
As If 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President
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| 5 out of 5 lollipops |
Book Jacket: "As if being 12 3/4 isn’t bad enough, Vanessa Rothrock’s mother is running for president and it’s ruining her life. Isn’t it enough that her enormous feet trip her up all the time, even on stage during the school spelling bee? Isn’t it enough that Reginald Trumball, love of Vanessa’s pathetic life, read her personal and private list of deficiencies to some boy she doesn’t even know? And that the Boob Fairy hasn’t visited her even once?! Doesn’t Mom realize that Vanessa needs her more than the rest of the country? More importantly, doesn’t she realize that she may be in grave danger? Vanessa's receiving threatening notes at school–notes that imply some psycho has it out for her mother at the Democratic National Convention. Vanessa might be the only person who can save her. But does she have the courage to do what that requires?"
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