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When Jane-Marie Told My Secretby Gina Willner-Pardo Ages 4-8 Buy on Amazon Carolyn and Jane-Marie are best friends. That means they share everything: gymnastics and snacks after school, jokes, and secrets. But then Jane-Marie tells Carolyn's secret, and nothing is the same anymore. This upbeat, funny chapter book, with bright illustrations on every spread, perfectly captures the doubts and the unexpected pleasures of evolving friendships. |
The jealousy and misunderstanding among girlfriends as well as their joyful bonding are dramatized in this easy chapter book. Carolyn shares school lunches, special jokes, and private nicknames with her best friend, Jane-Marie, and they have a lot of fun together at school and at home; but when Jane-Marie gives away a secret, Carolyn can't forgive the betrayal. The immediate first-person narrative gets across the hesitancies and hostilities of the female social scene; in one funny chapter, a boy just can't understand what Carolyn's getting so het up about. Bright watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations on almost every page show the hurt, the fun, and the uncertainty as Carolyn tries to get the hang of this friendship thing. — Booklist (Hazel Rochman)
When Carolyn gets mad at her best friend for telling her secret -- that she also wants to be friends with another classmate -- the two decide not to be best friends. Although the story deals with issues that may appeal to young girls, it moves slowly, with a lot of talking about what it means to be friends. Quiet watercolors illustrate the introspective tone of the text. — Horn Book
Poydar's suburban scenes enhance the amiable atmosphere of this engaging and sensitive look at friendship. — Review
Carolyn and Jane-Marie share everything with each other, from gymnastics classes to after-school snacks, but things change when Jane-Marie lets slip one of Carolyn's secrets, in a funny, brightly illustrated story. — Ingram