This began really good and the writing was great, but I realized fairly quickly that this book would not work in my elementary school library with my students.

This book is laugh out loud funny. Told from the point of view of Julia Marks about her summer spent as a Munchkin in a local production of The Wizard of Oz. Her parents forced her to try out but it ends up being a summer full of learning and inspiration from role models ranging from the 70 year old director to her co-Munchkin, an adult with dwarfism, to her eccentric neighbor. It has the sweetness and humor of a Ramona Quimby or Clementine. I did not want this book to end. Highly recommend it to 3rd graders and up.

This sounded really cute. As a short girl - shortest in my class from 1-5 grade - I really wanted to like this, but could get through much of it.

Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan is a book my middle school students will love. Julia feels defined by her height. For so many middle school students, grappling with identity is at the heart of the middle school years. Readers will empathize with Julia's journey and root for her as she discovers that who she is on the inside makes her larger than life. A lovely, charming book that I recommend in my classroom library.

Short
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group
Dial Books
Children's Fiction , Middle Grade


Image result for Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group Dial Books Children's Fiction , Middle GradeAs a kid, after school, I'd stop by Mom's classroom, and if she didn't have me grading her papers or cutting something out or cleaning something up, I read her books. At first my favorites were the ones with unreal illustrations. Eventually, I grew curious about the ones I avoided. Sometimes I was right, sometimes not,



I like 99.9% of kids and kids' books are like a dip back into childhood. Some writers like Neil Gaiman and L. Frank Baum have special voices that tease and charm back the magic of childhood from you.



So my primary desire is to fall in love with every kid's book--although I obviously prejudices that favor the imaginative variety.



This one starts out promisingly as the child protagonist is irked by her parents' comment that it's good that she's a short female, rather than a short male, but the story gets derailed for two chapters as she meanders, visits the piano lady and her brother without promising a goal or a problem that gets tackled except indirectly.


The voice has some charm in the sense that complainers can have for a short time but lacks full development. Maybe it's too much to ask for a child to be developed as a character.



This didn't click for me until our protagonist gets accepted as a munchkin in the play for The Wizard of Oz--and really only when Shawn Barr shows up, a director who is short, along with those affected by dwarfism. Plenty of readers found it worthwhile. If you do get bogged down, try skipping ahead to chapter 3.

Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan is not a book that will dissapoint. I reviewed this novel for NetGalley.
If you know of a kid (or are a kid) who wishes he/she would be grown-up before his/her time, this a novel that you should check out!
In a similar writing style to Counting By 7s, Short takes you into the mind of Julia, a child who is not as tall as she wishes. This book takes you through the summer with Julia as she grows up and learns that height isn't what makes the person, but the person and who they are inside and their experiences is what makes one unique.
This book did a great job of putting everything from the perspective of a young kid, as she learns about friendship, how to value friends, and how being different is interesting.
While I enjoyed this book, there were a few spots throughout the novel where I had to push through to get to the more exciting parts, but I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened to Julia at the end.
If you enjoyed Counting By 7s (and you definitely should have!), give Short a try!

I was disappointed because this book had so much potential and I loved Counting By 7's. However, Julia began to wear on me. She came across as a self-important, self-absorbed kid. All summer she didn't interact with another kid in the play and she seemed to see herself separate from them. She admits several times that she is being selfish but never recovers. I kept waiting for someone to bring her down a notch but it unfortunately never happened.
Additionally, toward the end of the book when she reads a very interesting fact about her neighbor she doesn't even care. I'm disappointed in her.

I enjoyed this story. It's been a while since I read it, but I have recommended it to 3rd and 4th grade students and those who have read it and told me they enjoyed it.

4.5 I received an ARC courtesy of Follett's Summer Read and Review program and an excerpt via NetGalley.. One word that best describes this book for me: "cute". There are so many wonderful lines, and it truly does seem as if it were written by a young girl (does the book ever really say how old she is?) There were chuckles or laughs on just about every page, yet there were many poignant moments.

Julia takes so many things literally; it makes me wonder if I was ever like that. It also conveys a type of innocence, an innocence that perhaps fewer and fewer of today's children experience. On the other hand, she does not have much of a filter, and blurts out many things that would not be acceptable for adults to say.

Some of my favorite lines/quotes:
"Having a little brother is like having an employee. He understands he has a job as a loyal sidekick."
"Nothing makes an adult happier than knowing a kid is looking something up without being told."
"I think that true art isn't showing off, but maybe bad art is."
"It's possible this means that one day I'll be a crummy mother. One of the tricks of being a parent is remembering lots of things at once."

I can't say that I was surprised that Sloan had been in a play, because the theater descriptions appeared authentic.And there were enough small twists here and there to make Julia rethink her strategy (and me as well)

Allow everyone to find themselves in a book. We all think, wonder, and learn from each other.

Well oh darn, I didn't know it was just a sneak peek! I immediately wanted to read the rest of the book - it seemed charming and light and approachable. Will be encouraging my middle grade reader daughters to check out as well!

Counting by Sevens will be hard to beat. Alrthough the story line was interesting, the sentence structure was choppy.

Loved this preview and couldn't wait to read the rest. A valuable story about being different. This book would be an excellent classroom read that provides opportunities for students to see themselves through Windows and mirrors.

I enjoyed what I was able to read (since it was an excerpt). I look forward to reading the complete novel.

It is hard to tell from a sneak peek, but I think, based on the preview and the author's previous popularity, this should be a good title to recommend to my students.

I truly adored Short. An engaging and entertaining story with an excellent message.

Five stars, all the way. I LOVE this author's writing, fell in love with it when I read "Counting by 7s", cemented when I read "Appleblossom the Possum". Two wildly different books, two incredibly amazing books.

This, while only a sneak peek, has only made me want to read this book all the more. I am terrified to read it, because my expectations are so high, but I can't wait to read the entire thing.

I would recommend ALL of her books. I got the mother of my significant other into this author, to the point where I had to buy all of the books for her. She was happy and now I get to read them as well. So win-win. Five stars! Review of complete book will be posted on Goodreads once the book has been read.

My thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group Dial Books for the sneak peek to read, review and drool over!

This was a sneak peek and not a full length galley-as such, I cannot give a full review.

After reading a short version of this book via netgalley; I am eager and excited to read the full version. This book is perfect for my teenage and adult book groups and will be advising them to purchase this book as soon as it is available. The story is presented well and I am keen to learn more about Julias family and friendships, I loved the narrative about her own "shortcomings" versus her families opinion of her and would like to see that developed more as I feel there may be many assumptions made on her part. I love the way that Julias narrative is presented as her conscious thoughts. I'm excited to see how the play will develop and if she is able to fully own her role as a munchkin. I'm certain that there will be a comedic element to this book as Julia is already quite a character. This story is engaging, the characters sound real, the writing is refreshing and natural, and the descriptions of the situations are hilarious, more please !!