Falling Apart: Stick With Me by Jennifer Blecher

Izzy and Phoebe had been best friends since their moms used to plop them down on the floor with squeeky toys so they could have some mom-talking time. But since mean-girl Daphne came into the picture, it seems Phoebe has no time for anyone else, certainly not Izzy. And to add to her gloom, there are those low-voiced conversations between her Izzy's mom and dad, always about money. Or not enough of it.

So much for Best Friends Forever and Happy Ever After.

Then Mom announces she's signed up with "Vacation Rentals" to make some extra money, and Izzy learns that Mom is "decorating" the upper floor of the garage, not to rent out to people to stay in while they visit nearby Boston, but for her family to stay in while the vacationers take over the house. Mom is thrilled with her first rental, a couple with a preschooler who need surgery in nearby Boston, and Mom adds, they have a daughter just Izzy's age who is a serious ice skater. Mom points out that Izzy used to love skating. And that's not all! For winter break, she's signed up Izzy and the skater for Theatre Camp together, where Phoebe and Daphne will doubtless be the leading ladies. Thanks, Mom, Izzy thinks.

The idea of staying in a small-town bed-and-breakfast doesn't please Wren either. She NEEDS the school break to prepare for the regionals, to work on her double lutzes with her trainer every day, not play "Let's Put On A Show" with a bunch of strangers. But at the first day of drama camp, Izzy and Wren hit it off; Wren is sharp enough to recognize Phoebe and Daphne's mean-girl tactics right away, and Izzy agrees to show her the local pond that may be frozen over enough for skating. Still, it's tense time for both families, and, with the example of her ex-BFF, Izzy is slow to warm to the purpose-driven Wren, who's not exactly thrilled with spending her practice time in a town too tiny to have an ice rink. And when she quarrels with her parents and with Izzy, Wren decides to take things into her own hands, and skates in hand, slips off in the twilight toward Willowy Pond.

Wren reached her left toe pick into the ice. It went deeper than she expected. The crack ran from the entry point of her toe pick to a few feet away. She lowered her body to the ice to distribute her weight. Its cracks splintered and grew. But it held. For now.

Wren didn't have a phone. Maybe her mom would call her name and realize she wasn't home. Or maybe not.

That was only half the problem. The other half was that nobody knew where she was.

But when Izzy hears that Wren is missing, she knowsinstantly where she must be.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, in Jennifer Blecher's taut tale of friendship found, as Izzy manages to get her new friend to safety, in Stick With Me (Greenwillow Books, 2020). Author Blecher is skilled with writing about the ups and downs of tweener novels, and this one appeals especially to the troubled re-alignments of friendship that middle graders face.

Says School Library Journal, "Blecher has a clear gift for writing about young girls who live on social margins, and the particular struggle of wanting to belong while staying faithful to one's self. Izzy and Wren are relatable heroines with flaws, impulses, and dreams that will resonate with young readers."

Cool On Ice? Fancy Nancy: Ice Skater Extraordinaire by Krista Tucker

I am practically an expert at skating in my living room. So I thought I would be even better on ice.

Nancy Clancy displays her well-practiced ballet spins and leaps and twirls for little sister JoJo as she gets ready for her first try at ice skating with her best friend Bree, already an experienced skater.

But like almost everyone, Nancy's first step onto the ice in her rented skates is a downer!

I keep falling down!

Nancy's self-image of herself as skater extraordinaire is shattered. Bree tries to be a good friend, encouraging her and predicting that she'll be fine after some practice, but Nancy is dispirited. She wishes she'd never put on those skates!

Mom suggests that she try one of the walkers for beginning skaters until she gets the hang of balancing.

NOT COOL!

Nancy is discouraged.

I told Bree that if I couldn't be an extraordinary skater I just wouldn't be one at all!

Nancy plops down on a bench to sulk and sit this one out, and Bree takes her at her word and heads off to have fun skating on her own.

WAIT! Nancy realizes that she's missing the fun of being with her best friend and decides to give the ice another try, and sure enough, practice makes, if not perfect, at least less painful,) in Krista Tucker's Disney Junior Fancy Nancy: Ice Skater Extraordinaire (HarperFest, 2018). Not created by the original author and illustrator, Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser, this Disney Artist spinoff of the Fancy Nancy franchise lacks some of the visual sparkle and unique charm of the original picture books, but reproduces the style and pluck of the heroine of the popular video series. First-time skaters will find Fancy Nancy's first skating lesson funny and informative.

This new one adds extra COOL to this ice show with a fold-out poster, 75 stickers, and a set of Nancy cards.

Skating from the Heart: It's A Big World, Little Pig! by Kristi Yamaguchi

POPPY WAS A PIG WHO DREAMED BIG.

ONE DAY POPPY RECEIVED A BEAUTIFUL INVITATION:

"FLY TO PARIS, FRANCE, AND COMPETE IN THE WORLD GAMES."

Poppy is thrilled to be invited, but soon big-time jitters set in. Paris a lo-o-n-g way from home. She won't know anyone. And everyone will be speaking a different language! Her parents and grandparents agree...it's a big world, but after all, isn't she a pig who dreams big? And her best friend Emma gives her some good advice.

"REMEMBER, EVERYBODY SMILES IN THE SAME LANGUAGE."

At the World Village, Poppy tries out Emma's advice when she distractedly bumps into a snow boarder from China named Li, who offers to share his map. She meets a skier from Italy and discovers they share a passion for pasta, pizza, gelato, and the operas of Poochini. A skater from Japan talks costume design with Poppy, an Aussie athlete teaches her to say "Hooroo," and Poppy and her new social network all wish each other good luck in different languages but with the same smile.

Poppy puts all her heart into her performance, and her proud parents treat her to a week in Paris, with plenty of Parisian gustatory treats to boot, It's a big world, but a small world, too, Poppy decides, when everyone smiles.

Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi's latest picture book with her improbable figure-skating pig, It's a Big World, Little Pig! (Jabberwocky, 2012), skims through this light-hearted story of international competition, again propelled by Tim Bowers' pastel-tinted illustrations, as Yamaguchi reaffirms her theme of following your heart and giving it your best, with the added theme of overcoming fear of new situations, and the added fillip of learning how to say "hello" and "good-bye" in different lingos. Fans of Yamaguchi's first book, Dream Big, Little Pig!, will glide and spin smoothly into this newest one as Poppy follows her dream all the way to the big time!