Every Cowgirl Goes to School - Rebecca Janni

Summary:  Nellie Sue is a true cowgirl with an imagination the size of Texas, and she is looking forward to a great school year. But when new girl Maya sits next to her best friend, Anna, and she finds her new desk is sandwiched between the rough and wild J-Twins, and a mysterious cow picture lands on her desk, Nellie Sue realizes that this day is NOT going her way.  Can this trusty cowgirl dust herself off and use her high-flying spirit to turn the day around and make a brand-new friend?

Readers of Fancy Nancy will love the laugh-out-loud classroom antics and story of friendship.  (Summary and image from goodreads.com)

My Review:  Nellie Sue is back, and she's off to school!  However, school isn't all she was hoping for.  Her best friend is sitting by a new girl, who doesn't seem to like Nellie Sue very much, cowgirl boots aren't acceptable at PE, and she's sandwiched between the J-twins, the little devils.  When someone leaves a picture of Nellie Sue as a "COW"girl on her desk, she has to wonder if school is all it was cracked up to be.

This book made my heart hurt.  I love Nellie Sue and her resilience, and I so wanted her first day of school to be perfect.  But how real is that?  Although Nellie Sue's first day was far from perfect, Janni has crafted a great tool for kids on making the best of a bad situation.  She gently reminds readers the true keys to friendship-kindness, communication, and being willing to see outside yourself-and makes sure that her heroine Nellie Sue comes out on top ... even using the "mean" picture of a "Cow"girl to explain why she's wonderful at the end of the book.

I love Nellie Sue's realism.  She's a wonderful little girl - not always perfect, but she tries her hardest and makes sure she's a good friend to everyone around her.  As a mom of a little girl, I love that role model!

My Rating: As always, five stars.