SuitabookLights, camera, middle school!
Jennifer L. Holm
- Reading
- Try reading a short section together, then pause to notice how the illustrations and comic pages add to the humour or mood. Continue independently or together according to the reader’s preference.
- Themes
- Conformity and standing out: Babymouse encounters classmates who are described through monster-movie imagery and as expecting others to share their fashionable tastes; she wants to stand out. The contrast between Babymouse’s wish to stand out and classmates’ pressure to fit in puts individuality and friendship in tension.
- Comic presentation: The story uses monster-movie comparisons for middle-school social uncertainty and includes black-and-white illustrations and some comic pages. The described presentation uses visual and comic elements to frame the school story playfully; this is a reading of its form, not a claim about how every scene lands.
- Worth knowing
- Social pressure is part of the premise: classmates are portrayed as seeking fashionable accessories and expecting others to be like them.