Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

Ginger Green is the 7 year-old playdate queen! But when she invites Maisy over to play, she may have taken on more than she (or her mother) have bargained for. Maisy is out of control, and she takes Ginger's little sister, Penny, with her! Maisy needs to figure out how to turn this playdate around, super-fast!

Every caregiver has had at least one playdate like this. Maybe it's even your little one that strips down to his or her underwear and takes off through a friend's house. Parents - and kids! - will sympathize with Ginger and her mom, who are taken by surprise by a playdate that is anything but expected. For parents and caregivers, The Crazy Friend provides an interesting look at kids' behavior without knowing what's behind it: is Maisy just a badly behaving child, or is there something more to the situation that neither Ginger nor her mom are aware of? There are some cues in the text that could lead readers to believe Maisy has some impulse control/ADHD-type behaviors. Ginger and her mom are frustrated (and I'm a little mortified that Maisy's mom was all too quick to leave her daughter for someone else to contend with), but each decides to embrace the situation and work toward a solution that will save the playdate for everyone.

The Crazy Friend provides teachable moments and the chance for discussion. There are three short chapters, illustrated in two-color purple and white, and can easily fit in either an Easy Reader or intermediate section. There are currently four Ginger Green books in the series here in the US; in the author's native Australia, there are 11.

Who doesn't love of a play date? I know my 5 year old LOVES having play dates with her friends. Anyone should know they may not go according to plan! This is read in Ginger's POV. Maisie is her friend who comes to the playdate. Maisie is wild and does not act how she should for her play date. I liked this, and did my daughter as we had a discussion about The Crazy Friend afterwards. Short chapters are the best chapters!. Thank you to the publisher via netgalley.

Ginger's play date is going very, very badly. Maisie, who is fun and loud at school, is out of control the second she rings Ginger's doorbell. This is a beginner elementary chapter book, with lots of vivid illustrations of Maisie behaving badly. She takes off all her clothes (Ginger's little sister is also unclothed, but she's littler and doesn't know better), eats all the snacks, and then cavorts on the rooftop. Ginger is horrified. What do you do when you'd rather read than be involved in your very own play date?

I thought this was cute, with lots of examples of what not to do on a play date. I especially loved the illustrations of Ginger's mom, as she tries to keep up with Maisie and put a lid on the wild behavior. I can see this book as being a big hit with my daughter when she's older.

*Thank you to Capstone and Netgalley for an ARC*

Ginger Green is the play date queen but things don't go as planned when her friend Maisy comes over to play.
The Crazy friend is a short chapter book that can teach children how to handle a not so calm play date. A great story time book that will offer discussion with your child after reading it. Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book to review.

This book was perfect as a read aloud with my 6 year old.
She's in Kindergarten and just starting to learn sight words. I love that she could "read" over my shoulder and recognize some words.
We enjoyed this story and will be looking for other books by this author. My girls are obsessed with foxes so they really enjoyed the illustrations. My youngest daughter is very much like Penny in this story so they thought that was hilarious!
A really sweet fun story that lead to a nice chat with my 6 year old about how we behave when we visit other peoples homes.

Love the way this helps children learn to stand their ground with friends, and still find the absolute best in other people! Great for the younger audiences!! I absolutely recommend this story for family reading time!

Within in first doorbell ring, I was in love with Ginger Green' s crazy friend. The characters in this book were relatable and I immediately thought of lots of children to refer this book to. The first being my daughter. From the mom's man voice to the little sister always being naked, I thought this book was perfect for many readers. The word to picture ratio was excellent for young readers and was entertaining enough to hold their attention. I hope to read more Ginger Green.

Ginger Green is seven years old and Queen of playdates. She calls up her friend from school Maisy and arranges a get together. Maisy enthusiastically accepts... Maisy screams, "YES!" as her acceptance speech and maybe that too loud response should have been a clue as to what is to come.

At precisely 2:00 the next day the door bell rings, and rings, and rings ad nauseam. Ginger's mother answers the door and shouts HI over Maisy's extra loud and exited HI!!!!!... while yes, the door bell is still ringing. Maisy throws off her boots when she enters. They hit the wall with a bang and she tears off down the stairs, not with Ginger, but with Ginger's younger sister Penny, who by the way, is stark naked. Mother yells in her angry voice, "No running in the house," but to no avail, the girls are gone. The playdate goes down hill from there if you can believe it as Maisy gets more and more out of control. She goes missing and ends up on the garage roof dangling Mother's car keys over the side. She's pushing buttons on the key chain that make the garage door go up and down like it's waving hello to the whole neighbourhood. She's acting very irresponsibly and putting herself in danger. Oh my!

Can Ginger and her Mother get things under control and finally settle things down to have a sane playdate with her crazy friend Maisey?

The Ginger Green Series will certainly be a hit. "The Crazy Friend" will have kids laughing and relating, as Ginger and her family try to find a solution to calm down a very dramatic and chaotic time. The fun, expressive and action-packed illustrations add greatly to the success of the story.

The series deals with social dilemmas and will be a perfect catalyst to trigger discussions about making good friends, displaying proper behaviour on playdates (whether in your own home or if you are invited to another home). There are two more books to come and I can't wait to read them. I highly, highly recommend this heartwarming chapter book.

This was a good book to read with a child who has a friend with ADHD. I think it teaches a child to be accepting that children who are difficult can learn to calm themselves, as long as you're patient enough to let them know that you're waiting for them to get through their "crazy period." It would be easier to discuss the lessons from this book if there was an insert of some sort to explain to parents/teachers how to use the book effectively. Still, its good to see a kids book tackle a difficult subject (crazy friends) from the child's point of view.

Thank you to Netgalley, Picture Window Books, Kim Kane and Jon Davis for the digital copy of this book.

Ginger Green, the Playdate Queen, invites her friend Maisy over to her house to play. She is excited to play with her friend but things seem to get out of hand pretty quickly. Ginger and her mother have to figure out how to save a playdate with one super crazy friend.

The Crazy Friend is a fun early chapter book. My seven year old enjoyed reading this book together. She LOVED how crazy Maisy is. She enjoyed Maisy running around in her "polka dot underpants."

"That was actually a great book. I like Maisy because she is crazy like I am. I would get on the roof." (I quickly reminded her that she should NOT get on the roof.)

"Maisy is Silly, and Maisy is loud. Maisy never does what I think She will do."

Ginger Green is a Playdate Queen. But the antics of her friend Maisy along with Ginger's little sister Penny , upsets her and she starts wishing she never thought of Playdate. How Ginger calms down Maisy and completes the playdate successfully forms the rest of the story. The book is appropriately titled as 'The Crazy Friend' , as Maisy deserves that title. She is silly, loud, crazy and a surprise package. I loved this book and the characters. The Illustrations by Jon Davis are beautiful.

Thanks to NetGalley and author for providing me this Book. I believe this book would be loved by the kids.

Have this book to my 7 year old to read to me. She loved it. Read it in one sitting which is just right for this age. I find longer books can make them lose interest. We really enjoyed the story and my daughter wants me to buy the book when it's published it was that big a hit.

I like how you identify with the child's feelings throughout the book, and the joy of discovery you share as the child sees things in a different and affirming way.
---Ronb

This is an early chapter book made up of three chapters with just a few sentences per page. Perfect for those young readers. Ginger Green, Play Date Queen (this is a series) invites her friend Maisy over to play. Unfortunately for Ginger, nothing goes as expected. There is nonstop action from Maisy's arrival and the ringing repeatedly of the doorbell to climbing the roof. She spends more time playing with Ginger's sibling than her. Maisy is quite the crazy friend. This is a fun read that kids will love and want to read over again. Parents will enjoy this as a read aloud with their younger children remembering their own crazy friends. The illustrations were also fun with great expression, colour and action. A great addition to public, school, classroom and home libraries.

The thing about early chapter books, early readers, is that the story has to be easy enough for the reader to read, which usually makes the stories very stilted, and dull.

Not so in this case. The crazy friend that is invited over to play with Ginger Green, the play date queen, and there is nonstop action from the get-go, when her friend Maisy comes over, from her non-stop ringing of the door bell, to her stripping off her clothes, to climbing on the roof. She certainly is a crazy friend.

I quite enjoyed the wild-ride of this early chapter book, and I expect that kids will enjoy it too, as they probably all know one of those crazy friends.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to review. This book is a short chapter book. with small amount of words on each page. I believe it would be best for children from 5-8 .. Ginger Green is known as the play date queen. She invites her friend Maisy over to play but things do not go as planned. Maisy is a bit loud and a bit annoying add in some pranks along the way and you end up with a very cute book.

A cute little book of three fun chapters....maybe like a beginner 'chapter book'! It has great illustrations & a fun, ambitious storyline....one that little kids would enjoy & adults will enjoy reading to little ones...it might even stimulate a little discussion amongst each other! It's part of a series, & if all of the books are similar to this....I bet it'd be a popular collection in anyone's library!
I received this e-galley from NetGalley, in return for a fair & honest review.

Ginger Green, playdate queen invites her friend Maisy to her house....but Maisy is a little bit crazy. Her increasingly bad behaviour is making Ginger wish she'd never heard of playdates. How can she calm her incorrigible friend down and save her title of playdate queen?

As always with childrens book reviews from me I am merely the conduit to my 6 year old daughter's views. But we were firmly of the same opinion on this book - it's just great. Funny and silly and yet a wee bit wise and insightful it made us giggle throughout the reading and recognise ourselves in the telling (I am the mom in this book!). I have one major issue.... apparently I have to go and buy the other four parts of this series. So great for us to read....not so great for the old bank balance!

I received this from Netgalley for an unbiased review.