Charise Mericle Harper is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including the Just Grace series and the Next Best Junior Chef series. Charise lives in Oregon. Visit Charise at chariseharper.com and on Twitter at @ChariseHarper.
Author and illustrator Ashley Spires is the creator of the Binky The Space Cat series of junior graphic novels, which have earned her numerous awards, including the Silver Birch Express and the Hackmatack. Her picture books, including
Larf, Small Saul, and
The Most Magnificent Thing, are known for providing readers, young and old, with a good laugh. When not drawing, she is often jogging with her dog Gordon or wrangling her three cats, Penny, Fran and Gracie. She lives in British Columbia.
Gr 2–4—June has a dog, Sammy, whom only she can hear talk. Her older teenage sister, Isabella, is too old to play with them anymore, so June and Sammy go looking for a new friend to join their crew and share their motto of "Fun! Friendly! Full of Adventure!" Finding a friend is not easy, but it just so happens that a new neighbor, Mae, has moved in across the street. With the help of the Wonder Wheel, a game sent to June by her grandma Penny, June sets out to discover if Mae is the friend they've been searching for. In 28 short chapters, with cartoonlike illustrations, the narrative moves quickly and ends happily. VERDICT A pleasant addition about making new friends; hand to independent readers who enjoy animal and friendship stories.—Vivian Ho, Port Washington Public Library, NY