What a great team Kwame Al;exander and Jerry Craft make! From beginning to end, the authors good-naturedly roast each other, as they tell an imagined view of themselves as competitive classmates. Along with the scheming and one-upmanship, they teach the reader some important tips about good writing and drawing, as well as how to be a good friend.

The end opens the door for a possible sequel, and I hope to read more collaborations between the authors! I highly recommend this for classrooms as a lead-in to a writing or art unit. Schools and libraries will want to have this on their shelves!

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this notebook novel, we meet J Ennis, who loves to draw, and whose stories have taken Dean Ashley Public School by storm. He's not a fan of reading, but enjoys making books like his J-Man superhero comics. When a storytelling contest is announced, he is worried that the new kid, K Wright, will steal his thunder. He's already stolen J's singular initial name, and J doesn't care for his white framed glasses, bald head, use of long words, or dad fashion sense. Even more distressing is the praise that fellow students heap on his for his poems. The two talk to each other, but try to give each other bad advice about writing stories, like using the "6th person" viewpoint. The whole school is buzzing about the contest, and Mr. A, one of the cafeteria workers, even comes up with a literary themed menu including Rolls of Thunder, Spuds, not Spuddies, and Hot Dog Man. J and K eventually figure out that they have more in common than they thought, and team up on a graphic novel entitled Croak and Dagger (which is sadly not included in the E ARC). They place second, losing to a fourth grade, Geoffrey Kenny, but have a newfound friendship as well as a renewd interest in story telling.

This reminded me a bit of Barnett and Scieszka's Battle Bunny, with all of the inside jokes and breaking of the fourth wall with notes from the authors, or Reynold's Stuntboy. There are plenty of nods to other middle grade writers as well as Craft and Alexander's work. Language arts teachers will love all of the discussions of literary devices, and Craft's fans will enjoy the illustrations. Dad jokes and puns abound. There's even Mrs. Yang (after author Kelly?) the librarian, who catches up on her reading during lunch because students fail to come to the library.

Has its moments, but will probably attract more elementary readers, especially since the boys are both in fifth grade.

I have been so excited to read this book - two powerhouse creators coming together! And it did not disappoint. The format and style draws readers in, with the witty writing and comic illustrations. But the story and its message is where the real power of the book lies - realistic and relatable to kids of all ages. I cannot wait to get this book in the library and start recommending it to kids!

Whether or not you are already familiar with the friendly rivalry between authors Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft, this MG tale will have you HOWLING. J and K are fifth graders entering a storytelling contest, sabatoging each other along the way. Readers of previous works of Alexander and Craft will discover the hidden the Easter eggs with glee. Their signature humor (ranging from 5th grade boy to dad jokes and back again), will keep both kids and adults cackling at the hijinks and author's notes, interjected throughout. I give this book five DAPS - IYKYK.

This one made me laugh out loud multiple times, and the competitiveness and insecurity between J and K is extremely relatable. I think kids will really like this one. Minus one star because, while I get that this is sort of a craft book, it's a little overly pedantic.

This book gave me the same feeling and vibes as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Captain Underpants series. Not just because it’s highly illustrated (though that is part of it), but because you get the same “regular kids just getting through the school day“ vibe to it.

J & K are rivals, even though they don’t actually know each other. They are in different fifth grade classes at DAPS (Dean Ashley public school), but Jay is known as the best artist in the fifth grade, and K is the best writer. When they both decide to enter the schools annual storytelling competition, they each try to sabotage the other with sneaky strategies to give each other the worst writing and drawing advice ever.

But as the boys get to know each other, they realize they actually have a lot in common, and they make a really good team! I love this. Especially now, when the world is so divided in so many “us versus them” ways. we need more reminders that things work out better all around when we take the time to get to know each other and find common ground.🥰

In this book, I especially love the meta framework as the rival authors, Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft, trade bars at one another through a series of author notes that interrupt the text. The playful “animosity“ highlights the point that we can find common ground and work together to create great things, even with our sworn Frenemies.