Mallory on the Move

Mallory on the Move (Mallory #1)

Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Tamara Schmitz

Carolrhoda, 2004

$5.95, Paperback

978-1575058313

February 8^th, 2012

Genre: Realistic, School Story, Humor

Age: 7+

Description: In the first book in the Mallory series, we get the basics of Mallory’s life and her individual personality. Eight-year-old Mallory McDonald (like the restaurant but no relation) doesn’t want to move! She’s being forced to leave behind her best friend and next door neighbor, Mary Ann, and has to live next door to a boy and his crabby older sister. However, when the new boy, Joey, turns out to be a pretty cool kid, what will Mary Ann think since she and Mallory vowed to never become friends with a boy?

Opinion: This series attracted my attention because of the fun covers which are featured on all the books (currently up to 18 volumes). Like the quote from School Library Journal on the back cover says, “Mallory is an appealing character who deserves a place among Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, Amber Brown, and Clarice Bean.” I wholeheartedly agree. Mallory is a character any child, from late elementary school age to older tween age, can relate too. The topics of the books are very pertinent to young readers’ lives. In this one, Mallory experiences a lot of mixed feelings that many children would normally have towards moving. She feels like her parents are ruining her life. She experiences packing woes, believes she can move in with her best friend’s family instead, gets stuck with a smaller room because her older brother gets the larger one, has to deal with the guilt of making a new best friend, and fears neglecting her old friends. Eventually, Mary Ann and Joey meet and don’t get off on the right foot together but they eventually patch things up after Mallory makes one finally last ditch effort to fix her life as she attempts to run away from her new home back to her old one. Everyone will find a little piece of themselves in Mallory.