Ellis Johnson Might Be Famous

Gr 4-6–Ellis Johnson, aka the Cookie Kid, is back in this series based on the author’s experiences growing up the son of Wally “Famous” Amos. It’s 1976, and with warm cookies keeping customers satisfied, the kitchen isn’t the only place where things are heating up. Being in middle school and having divorced parents is proving more challenging than he bargained for. While Dad and Ellis, who are Black, are on a trip to New York, a new woman named Sam comes into Dad’s life and Ellis isn’t one bit happy about it. Ellis gets the opportunity to show off his harmonica skills in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but his confidence takes a hit when it doesn’t go as planned. On top of that, Ellis has a girl he’s pretty interested in, but Uncle Wishbone has quit his job at the radio station and continues to invade Ellis’s space. Ellis is ready to pull out all the stops to get DJ Wishbone back on the radio, and to break up Dad and his new girlfriend. This is a sweet sequel about a young boy navigating all the changes in his life and trying to forge his own identity with the help of a strong community.