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Allison Reviews Nikki & Deja

June 26, 2008 Allison Roberts of Bargar Academy writes today on Nikki & Deja by Karen English and illustrated by Laura Freeman. Clarion Books/imprint of Houghton Mifflin,2007.

When Antonia, an arrogant new girl, comes to school, third-graders and best friends Nikki and Deja decide to form a club that would exclude her but find the results not what they expected. 

Did you ever have that very best friend when you were young? You did everything together. We all probably had one. We also probably had someone that no one liked and who tried to take your best friend away from you. 

Deja wants to start a drill club and not invite Antonia. Nikki does not have rhythm and is worried about being able to be in the club. Deja and Nikki's friendship becomes estranged because of Nikki's lack of rhythm and Antonia wanting Nikki to join her candy club.

This is a great story for girls that shows how true friendship comes through in the end. Here are some questions that could spark some discussion:

Why did Deja choose a club that she knew Nikki could not do?

What could Nikki and Deja have done to make Antonia feel welcomed?

Diane's note:
Found this review on a website called Common Sense. How do you feel about sites that provide this type of information? Are they helping parents? Are they preventing challenges? Are they providing fuel for censorship? Be sure to read their "ten common sense beliefs" to know where they are coming from.

Also, great interview of the author Karen English on The Brown Bookshelf. 

Do you participate in GoodReads yet? If not, you may want to check out this approach to discussing books like Nikki & Deja.

Posted by Diane Chen on June 26, 2008 | Comments (0)