A Is for Elizabeth Series Blog Tour & Review ~ BookishRealm

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I'll be reviewing two books from the A Is for El!zabeth Series by Rachel Vail as part of a blog tour for Rockstar Book Tours. Please keep reading to check out my review, learn more about the author, and enter a giveaway!

Series: A Is for Elizabeth, #1
# of Pages: 128
Publication: May 9th, 2019
Source: ARC from Publisher
Genre: Children's Realistic Fiction
Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Elizabeth is in second grade. Class 2B! It's great! Friends, recess, homework! Even a big project: Make a poster of your name. Yayyy! Hang on. The name Elizabeth has a bajillion letters in it! The name Anna has only four letters. Plus, Anna's first letter is A, which is also the first letter of Alphabetical Order. But Anna can't always be first! That's not fair! In A is for Elizabeth, Elizabeth makes more than a poster. She also makes some important choices—about fairness, rules, speaking up, and glue. But the most important thing she makes is...a friend! A new spin off from Vail's Justin Case series starring Justin's little sister.

This was such a cute start to a new and exciting children's series. As a mother to be, I'm constantly looking for books that I will recommend to my daughter in the future and this is definitely one that I will keep in mind. In my field of librarianship, this is a book that I would recommend as a great transition for children who are newer readers and are used to having access to books that still include illustrations. The story was unique and well-written. I also enjoyed that the author divided the book into chapters. This gives children a feel for what it's like to read a book that has actual chapters. In addition, these chapters weren't very long which would make transitioning from one chapter to the next much easier for a child. Elizabeth is a fun and a unique character. As she transitions into second grade, she learns a lot more about responsibility and what it means to stand up for what she believes in. This book also takes the common perception of the alphabet and "alphabetically order" and adds a new flare to children understanding and re-inventing what we consider traditional. I loved the dynamic between Elizabeth and her family and believe that this is a great read for any age group.

Series: A is For Elizabeth, #2
# of Pages: 128
Publication: May 9th, 2019
Source: ARC from Publisher
Genre: Children's Realistic Fiction

Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Big Mouth Elizabeth is the second in a new chapter book series spinning off of the Justin Case books, starring Justin's little sister, Elizabeth. Second-grader Elizabeth longs to be a member of the Big Mouth Club, which is made up of kids who have lost at least one baby tooth. Elizabeth is WAY behind on losing her baby teeth, and so is Cali, a quiet girl who is also left out of the Big Mouth Club. Elizabeth thinks Cali is so much more babyish than she is--in fact, Elizabeth SHOULD be in the Big Mouth Club because she's NOT babyish. But when she understands how bad it feels to be left out, Elizabeth's attitude shifts. Here is a story about fitting in in unexpected ways. With copious line art by Paige Keiser, this second book in Rachel Vail's Elizabeth series is sure to delight fans of Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and Clementine.

This was an AMAZING follow up to the first book in the series. While the first book focused on readers getting the opportunity to know more about Elizabeth, this book focuses more on character growth. We are immersed back into Elizabeth's 2nd grade class where all of the students are beginning to lose their baby teeth. Unfortunately, Elizabeth hasn't lost any of her baby teeth and then feels left out when her classmates form the "Big Mouth" club (clearly unaware of the true meaning behind calling someone a big mouth). What I truly enjoyed about this installment into the series is that Elizabeth learns what it's like to be left out and/or ostracized from a group. This to me is amazing because it teaches children in the same age group to become more empathetic and self-aware. After teasing another classmate and calling her names, Elizabeth begins to learn how that behavior affects others. I fell in love with the fact that in the first book Elizabeth learned what it meant to stand up for things that she believed in; however, in this book she learns how to stand up for others. It was interesting and amazing to watch that transition. This was another great installment in the series and I look forward to seeing what will come in the books to follow.

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Rachel Vail is the award-winning author of more than 30 books. Her newest novel for middle-schoolers is WELL, THAT WAS AWKWARD. Her novels for teens and tweens also include UNFRIENDED, IF WE KISS, KISS ME AGAIN, LUCKY, GORGEOUS, BRILLIANT, and the Friendship Ring series. For elementary school kids, there’s JUSTIN CASE: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters; JUSTIN CASE: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom, and, JUSTIN CASE: Rules, Tools, and Maybe a Bully. Her picture books include PIGGY BUNNY and SOMETIMES I’M BOMBALOO. Rachel lives in New York City with her husband, their two sons, and a tortoise named Lightning.

Giveaway Details:

3 lucky winners will receive finished copies of THE ELIZABETH CASE Series, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/10/2019- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt

6/11/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

6/12/2019- Nerdophiles- Review

6/13/2019- BookishRealmReviews- Review

6/14/2019- The Hermit Librarian- Excerpt

Week Two:

6/17/2019- BookishRealmReviews- Review