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Ellie May on April Fools' Day

An Ellie May Adventure

Part of Ellie May

Author Hillary Homzie
Illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler
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Hardcover
$14.99 US
Charlesbridge
5.88"W x 8.06"H x 0.67"D  
On sale Dec 18, 2018 | 112 Pages | 9781580898201
Grades 1-4
Reading Level: Lexile 580L | Fountas & Pinnell M
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How far will Ellie May go for a laugh--and a little revenge--when her class is allowed to celebrate April Fools' Day?

Quirky and funny second grader Ellie May can't believe her class is allowed to celebrate April Fools' Day--so long as it's done in good fun. She absolutely loves the idea of targeting a certain someone--the practically perfect Ava. Practicing on her parents and sisters, Ellie May begins to brainstorm harmless pranks. Soon enough, good intentions turn the classroom and her home upside-down when fake ants, trick tape, and hidden surprises don't go as planned. Ellie May may not be perfect like Miss-Know-it-All Ava, or calm and rational like her best friend Lizzy, but she's good-hearted and eventually realizes that the best trick is to make friends genuinely laugh--at no one's expense.
Hillary Homzie View titles by Hillary Homzie
Jeffrey Ebbeler has illustrated more than forty picture books, including the Main Street School series (Looking Glass Library/Random House). He has worked as an art director, done paper engineering for pop-up books, created large scale murals for schools and churches, and sculpted puppets. He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH. www.jeffillustration.com View titles by Jeffrey Ebbeler
“Hey, Monday is also April Fools’ Day!” Mo called out. “Monday should get a new name. Monday Funday!” Tilting his head, he stuck out his tongue and pulled on his lips. All the kids laughed really hard. I wish I had thought to say, “Monday Funday.”
        Beside me, Lizzy whispered, “Mo’s so funny.”
        Even my very best friend can’t get enough of Mo.
Max made a goofy face right along with Mo. He’s a professional copycat.
        Ms. Silva gave us her Teacher Look, where she squints until her eyelids almost touch. “Yes, it’s April Fools’ Day. But remember that anyone who wants to celebrate needs to do it in good fun, or not at all. You don’t want to scare or hurt anyone. My mother once pulled a good-natured prank on our family. She cooked scoops of mashed potatoes with black beans in them. When we opened the oven, my siblings and I thought she’d made us chocolate chip cookies!”
        I never would’ve guessed Ms. Silva had a mom that funny.
        “So, Ms. Silva,” said Mo, “that means on April Fools’ Day we can give someone a funny meal, but we can’t toss mealy worms on them?”
        Nearly everyone cracked up. Even Ms. Silva smiled as she nodded. Ava smiled a bit, but she didn’t laugh. She was serious about sharing her birthday plan.
        Maybe I could be as funny as Mo. Maybe I could be the funniest. I could make April Fools’ Day a holiday the whole class would remember.
Copyright © 2018 by Hillary Homzie (Author); Jeffrey Ebbeler (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Second-grader Ellie May is a live wire with a good heart and less good impulse control. In Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, she’s desperate for her chance to be class flag leader, but when she tries to impress her teacher with her devotion to George Washington–style honesty, she ends up insulting her classmates instead. In Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, our heroine is jealous of Mo, the class funny guy, and wants to pull off a great prank herself; unfortunately, she takes things too far. Ellie May is a sympathetic heroine in her yearning for recognition (“Mo’s funny. Ava is smart. You’re artsy. I just want to be something too”), and the episodic chapters make for approachable and humorous early reading. Spirited, cartoonish black and white art has an appropriately chaotic edge in its interpretation of Ellie May’s diverse classroom and mixed-race family. Since the relevant holiday gets decent coverage in each book, this offers the possibility for solid curricular use as well as an amiable new series friend.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book

About

How far will Ellie May go for a laugh--and a little revenge--when her class is allowed to celebrate April Fools' Day?

Quirky and funny second grader Ellie May can't believe her class is allowed to celebrate April Fools' Day--so long as it's done in good fun. She absolutely loves the idea of targeting a certain someone--the practically perfect Ava. Practicing on her parents and sisters, Ellie May begins to brainstorm harmless pranks. Soon enough, good intentions turn the classroom and her home upside-down when fake ants, trick tape, and hidden surprises don't go as planned. Ellie May may not be perfect like Miss-Know-it-All Ava, or calm and rational like her best friend Lizzy, but she's good-hearted and eventually realizes that the best trick is to make friends genuinely laugh--at no one's expense.

Author

Hillary Homzie View titles by Hillary Homzie
Jeffrey Ebbeler has illustrated more than forty picture books, including the Main Street School series (Looking Glass Library/Random House). He has worked as an art director, done paper engineering for pop-up books, created large scale murals for schools and churches, and sculpted puppets. He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH. www.jeffillustration.com View titles by Jeffrey Ebbeler

Excerpt

“Hey, Monday is also April Fools’ Day!” Mo called out. “Monday should get a new name. Monday Funday!” Tilting his head, he stuck out his tongue and pulled on his lips. All the kids laughed really hard. I wish I had thought to say, “Monday Funday.”
        Beside me, Lizzy whispered, “Mo’s so funny.”
        Even my very best friend can’t get enough of Mo.
Max made a goofy face right along with Mo. He’s a professional copycat.
        Ms. Silva gave us her Teacher Look, where she squints until her eyelids almost touch. “Yes, it’s April Fools’ Day. But remember that anyone who wants to celebrate needs to do it in good fun, or not at all. You don’t want to scare or hurt anyone. My mother once pulled a good-natured prank on our family. She cooked scoops of mashed potatoes with black beans in them. When we opened the oven, my siblings and I thought she’d made us chocolate chip cookies!”
        I never would’ve guessed Ms. Silva had a mom that funny.
        “So, Ms. Silva,” said Mo, “that means on April Fools’ Day we can give someone a funny meal, but we can’t toss mealy worms on them?”
        Nearly everyone cracked up. Even Ms. Silva smiled as she nodded. Ava smiled a bit, but she didn’t laugh. She was serious about sharing her birthday plan.
        Maybe I could be as funny as Mo. Maybe I could be the funniest. I could make April Fools’ Day a holiday the whole class would remember.
Copyright © 2018 by Hillary Homzie (Author); Jeffrey Ebbeler (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Praise

Second-grader Ellie May is a live wire with a good heart and less good impulse control. In Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, she’s desperate for her chance to be class flag leader, but when she tries to impress her teacher with her devotion to George Washington–style honesty, she ends up insulting her classmates instead. In Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, our heroine is jealous of Mo, the class funny guy, and wants to pull off a great prank herself; unfortunately, she takes things too far. Ellie May is a sympathetic heroine in her yearning for recognition (“Mo’s funny. Ava is smart. You’re artsy. I just want to be something too”), and the episodic chapters make for approachable and humorous early reading. Spirited, cartoonish black and white art has an appropriately chaotic edge in its interpretation of Ellie May’s diverse classroom and mixed-race family. Since the relevant holiday gets decent coverage in each book, this offers the possibility for solid curricular use as well as an amiable new series friend.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book

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