Jessica

Sweet story about a girl and her imaginary friend, Jessica... or is she real? Kevin Henkes' books are great stories about friendship.

Imaginary friends are the topic of this story - and in the end, help prepare for a real friend. Cute illustrations.

This is one of my favorite books. I think it is a great book to read aloud to children during the first week of kindergarten when everyone is trying to make friends. The pictures are so cute and the way Henkes writes is hilarious. I think every child would like this book!

K-1. This is great when teaching students about making friends. Sometimes it is scary to make new friends when you know you love the old ones but making new friends is fun too.

I thought that this was an excellent picture book for children; the pictures were very colorful. I also liked how certain parts of the book were written in larger font in order to emphasize those certain sentences. This is a story about a young girl named Ruthie who had an imaginary friend named

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Jessica. Ruthie's parents were continuosly telling her that there was no Jessica; however, Ruthie never listened. Jessica went everywhere with Ruthie, even to Ruthie's first day of Kindergarten. Then, something very exciting happened- Ruthie made a real friend, and her name was Jessica!
I would read this book to children in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade. This is a wonderful story to read on the first day of school because it has to do with making new friends on the first day of school, which is something alot of children are worried about.

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Jessica is about a girl named Ruthie who has an imaginary friend named Jessica. Ruthie and Jessica do everything together. When Ruthie starts her first day of school, she meets a real girl named Jessica, and they become best friends. The imaginary Jessica is gone.

This book was okay for me. Nothing

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really stood out and caught my attention about this book. I have never had any experiences with imaginary friends so I really can't relate.

This would be a good book for a child who is attached to an imaginary friend. It could help convince the child that it is better to make real friends. Other than that, I probably would not read this book to a class.

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Ruthie didn't have a dog. She didn't have a cat; she didn't have a sister or a brother. She did have Jessica, her imaginary friend. They went everywhere together. They went to the moon, the playground, to Ruthie's grandma's. She ate with Ruthie, slept with Ruthie, stacked blocks with Ruthie. The

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two even celebrated together. When Ruthie was five, Jessica was five too. Ruthie's parents told her that Jessica did not exist. Ruthie didn't listen until one day, she had to go to kindergarten. Jessica went to kindergarten also. Ruthie was very sad at school. When the teacher told the students to partener up for the restroom, Ruthie left space for Jessca. While waiting, a girl came up and asked to be Ruthie's partner. She then said her name was Jessica. The two girls became best friends. Ruthie did not have a, a cat, a sister or a brother. Now she had Jessica.

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I thought this was a very cute book. Little girls would love reading it because everyone wants to have an imaginary friend. Ruthie's only friend was Jessica for so long but the problem was is that nobody else believed she was real. One day, Ruthie needed a partner and a girl named Jessica asked to

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be hers. She was surprised by her name and they were bestfriends from then on.

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Ruthie had a friend named Jessica that was her best friend and they did everything together, only one problem, Jessica wasnt real. Ruthie started school and met a real friend named Jessica and she is never lonely again. Very cute book and good for Kindergarteners just starting school.

Reading Level 2.6

This is a precious story about a girl and her best friend. Ruthie makes up an imaginary friend, Jessica, who did everything with her. Not until school did she actually meet w new friend whose name was ironically Jessica. This is a fun book that you can ask kids what they think

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might happen to see if they can predict the outcome.

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I think that this would be a good book for individual reading. It's a great book for beginner readers and those students who can relate to having imaginary friends. Jessica is the imaginary friend in this story. I think that the teacher can ask the readers to make predictions at the beginning of

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the story and see if it matches what actually happened.

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This is a story about starting out in a new school and how some kids are nervous. It tells of the importance that it can be to some kids to have an imaginary friend till they find one of their own. That is exactly what Ruthie did in her story.

Cute book about Ruthie and her invisible friend Jessica. When it comes time to go to kindergarten, Jessica joins her but coincidental Ruthie makes a real friend named Jessica too!

This book is about a little girl named Ruthie who has an imaginary friend named Jessica. She and her imaginary friend did everything together. But when Ruthie started school, she found a new best friend, which was actually real! The funny thing is, is that this new friend’s name was Jessica!

This

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book was so cute! It would be a great one to read aloud to a group of Pre-K or Kindergarten students to help them deal with their insecurities about starting school and making new friends. I really enjoyed this book.

I would read this to my students on the first day of school to ease their nerves and then do a couple activities to get them to loosen up and talk to each other. We could first have everyone introduce themselves and tell one unique thing about them. Then they could split up into pairs and make a list of all the special things they learned from each other by sharing different things about themselves. Hopefully this would get the year started with something great that we could build upon.

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Jessica is the friend of Ruthie and they do everything together. Ruthie's parents do not believe that Jessica is real, once Ruthie begins school her parents try and convince her that she needs to make real friends.

Summary:
Ruthie is a little girl who has an imaginary friend named Jessica. Since Ruthie is an only child, she does everything with Jessica. Ruthie calls Jessica her best friend. However, one day when Ruthie starts Kindergarten she meets a girl who is really named Jessica. From then on, Ruthie and

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the real Jessica become best friends.

Personal Reflection:
Although I've never had an imaginary friend and I cannot relate directly with Ruthie, I think that this book is an adorable story of a young little girl. It will surely inspire new kindergarteners to make new friends!

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. I would have my students write in their journals about their own personal experiences with their first day of school. If it was a kindergarten class I would have them draw a picture of that special day.
2. I would also have my students use different craft supplies such as markers, crayon, yarn, and googly eyes to recreate what their own bestfriend looks like!

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Summary:
This story is about a little girl named Ruthie who has a best friend named Jessica. Jessica is an imaginary friend and she does everything with her. Ruthie then has to start Kindergarten and brings Jessica along with her. Ironically she ends up making a new, real, friend named Jessica.

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Personal Reaction:
This book was very colorful, and I feel this book would appeal to children in first grade or lower!

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. Have the children draw us a picture of what their best friend looks like.
2. Tell me if they have ever had an imaginary friend.

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Ruthie does everything with her imaginary friend Jessica. They play games and even get into trouble together. Ruthie's parents wants her to have real friend. Then on her first day at kindergarten, Ruthie meets a real new friend who name is Jessica and they do everything together from then on. I can

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never say i hate a Kevin Henkes book, because they are always so fun and creative.

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Every child had an imaginary friend at some point in his or her life, and this book portrays this exactly. Jessica is another great book by Kevin Henkes that demonstrates the many untold and unrepeated aspects of childhood life.

"Jessica," by Kevin Henkes, is a great story to read to students who are just entering the elementary school age. This story, about a little girl who starts Kindergarten without wanting to leave her imaginary friend Jessica behind, will teach children that it is great to start making new friends

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when you come to school and start a new grade or class. This story would also be helpful to use in the classroom for students who may be at that age where they have imaginary friends still or who even just like using their imaginations! Henkes, like always, uses brightly painted illustrations to tell this cute story of a little girl and her imaginary friend, Jessica.

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Summary: Ruthie is a little girl with a best friend named Jessica. She and Jessica do everything together and are inseparable. However, even though they're the same age, Ruthie and Jessica can't go to school together, Why? Because Jessica is imaginary! Despite her parents saying Jessica needs to

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stay home, Ruthie brings her along. Ruthie sticks with Jessica the entire day, choosing to stay away from the other kids. However, when Ruthie meets a classmate whose name happens to be Jessica, everything changes. Now Ruthie's best friend can be seen by everyone!

Personal Reaction: I think this book is a good example of how kids can cling to imaginary friends. While I don't know what it's like to have imaginary friends, I know that little kids can often cling to them rather than be with other kids.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Have students create an image of their own imaginary friend using craft supplies (pipe cleaners, play doh, beads, etc...). Have them create a small story with their imaginary friend and share with the class, using the model to act out the story.

2. Have students make a list, as a class, of what they look for in a friend. Then, have them write a letter to their best friend, whether it's a schoolmate, family member, imaginary, etc.. and, with the help of the list, have them tell their friends what makes them such great friends.

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Ruthie has an imaginary best friend named Jessica. Her parents try to tell her there is no Jessica. Ruthie remains unconvinced. I enjoyed this story and I thought the ending was cute. She comes home from school with a friend names Jessica.

My parents got this book for me, Jessica, when I was five years old, but reading it again almost fifteen years later, really gives me a new insight into it. Ruthie is scared of change, of leaving her family and going to a place called school where she doesn't know anybody, so she creates an

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imaginary friend named Jessica who goes everywhere and does everything with her and who can never leave her. But low and behold, when Ruthie does go to school, she meets a real person who replaces her imaginary friend, making for a more healthy friendship, and that person's name is Jessica. How fitting!

This book teaches us that change is not only okay, but sometimes, it is even better. Like Ruthie, we may be scared, but one way or another, everything will work out. They might not be as perfect as finding someone named Jessica to replace an imaginary friend named Jessica, but knowing how good things can be is the encouragement that kids need in order to take risks and find happiness.

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About an imaginary friend, but even though my daughter has invented friends (just like she pretends her baby doll is real), she can't relate.