Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang (The Popularity Papers #1)

The Popularity Papers is a cute graphic novel by Amy Ignatow, written for young adults, but can be enjoyed by all ages. This book is text heavy for a graphic novel, but it's easy to read and the story moves quickly after a somewhat slow start. The story starts out light for most of the book,

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focusing on the adventures of Lydia and Julie as they seek to uncover the secrets to popularity. Soon after the halfway mark, the book becomes more introspective, blending in some life lessons within the still entertaining plot. The subtle lessons make this a wonderful book for young teens who will enjoy the story and pictures, yet still hopefully take something worthwhile from the book to apply to their own lives.

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Read alike for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, only for girls. Good insight into friendship. Written in two voices with each girl contributing in her own style of writing and drawing.

Lydia and Julie are not popular in school,
but they are going to change that.

Lydia and Julie want to become popular but while they do, they get torn apart from each other because of different popularity. Can Lydia and Julie become friends again?

I think it is a very good book because kids in the 4th,5th and maybe even 6th grade can relate to it.

2 girls wanting to be popular. Spying and seeking on the popular girls are what they do. A problem occurs when they become popular, with different popular girls! Will they stay friends?

The recent trend in middle grade novels rife with interior illustrations doesn’t appear to be going away. And guess what? I’m so totally okay with it! I recently read THE POPULARITY PAPERS: RESEARCH FOR THE SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT AND GENERAL BETTERMENT OF LYDIA GOLDBLATT & JULIE GRAHAM-CHANG, the

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first in an illustrated middle grade series set up as the journal of the two protagonists, Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang, 5th graders determined to figure out what makes the popular girls popular, so that they might become members of the social elite upon entering junior high.

Amy Ignatow‘s storytelling is brilliant, executing the voices of both girls with humor and grace. I loved reading their interactions within the journals, their little spats, their grand schemes, their adventures. The illustrations — mostly drawn by the character of Julie — are a hysterical addition.

Ignatow also manages to work in some fantastic secondary characters. Melody, Lydia’s Gothtastic older sister is a (sarcastic) hoot, Julie’s two dad’s always have something funny to add, and Norwegian immigrant and fellow 5th grader Roland leads to some serious romantic hijinks. Oh yes, each and every page of THE POPULARITY PAPERS is filled with fabulosity.

This book is perfect for the reluctant reader in your life. Any girl who’s read DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and has been wondering where the cartoon book for her is, well, here you go.

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A story told through the notes between two tweens. I think it realisitically portrays the trials and tribulations of not quite being a teen and the desire to fit in that most middle school girls go through. I can see this being ery popular with our 4h and 5th grade female students.

Two best friends embark on a project to study the behavior and taste of the popular girls at their elementary school so that by the time they get to middle school they too will be in the right crowd. Novel appears in the form of a scrapbook.

Lydia and Julie, fifth graders who are best friends, have one big goal: to figure out how to be popular before they enter middle school. This graphic novel, set up like a scrapbook, shows the different events the two girls go through on their quest to understand popularity from sports to theater.

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The road to popularity proves difficult for the girls, as the activities they try draw them to new friends and further apart from each other. The book navigates the real challenges that young people face as they through the process that is growing up. The book is enjoyable and you can see the differences in the writing styles when it's Lydia writing or Julie writing. The book is almost like a female version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", as it addresses some of the same issues about growing up. This style of this graphic novel may help draw in reluctant readers.

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I had to put the book down, I was laughing so hard at the part about Roland's song. I LOVE ROLAND. AND HIS WHOLE FAMILY.

I am sure this was designed to appeal to the Wimpy Kid fans, but I found it mostly drivel and much prefer Barshaw's Ellie McDoodle books.

I picked up this book for our genre reading project because this series has been really popular with the kids since we purchased it for the library. And now I see why! Julie and Lydia are fifth graders who are determined to be popular next year when they move up to middle school. To that end, they

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decide to observe all the popular girls and write about them and their attempts to emulate them. The book is printed just like it would be a notebook shared by two girls - the type is in handwriting and the text is accompanied by tons of cartoons. The story is really funny as the girls have mishap after mishap in their quest to breach the inner circle of the popular girls. I laughed out loud numerous times and I love the format.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Julie has two dads and it's so not an issue.

Readalikes: This is a clear choice for kids who love those funny, cartoony, diary books like Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, etc.

I'd also suggest Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jenni Holm for its very graphic format.

As far as the story line goes, the tale of two girlfriends figuring things out reminded me a little bit of some of the books I enjoyed in my childhood: Blubber by Judy Blume, The Babysitter's Club, and P.S. Longer Letter Later by Ann M. Martin and Paula Danziger. Those might be too dated for some kids, so maybe suggest Bobby Vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee or The School Story by Andrew Clements.

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Breaking away from the traditional chapter-book format, this book features two main characters, Lydia and Julie, and their written communication throughout their fifth grade school year. Determined to figure out how to become popular, the girls vow to study and record the habits of the popular

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girls. They form a plan, set their goals, and detail their musings and findings in letter writing and illustrating to one another. Each girl’s thoughts are written in her own handwriting and the hilarious colored-pencil drawings complement their points-of-view. Additionally, the book presents an accepting view of alternative families, as neither girl lives in a traditional two-parent household, and Lydia, in fact, lives with her two fathers. The result is a witty, humorous example of the challenges and social pressures experienced by preteens. If your readers enjoy Diary of a Wimpy Kid, they are sure to love this book. Highly recommended.

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Lydia and Julie keep a journal as they try to find out what makes the popular girls so popular. Lydia is the energy and ideas and Julie is the artist and the realist. Through the journal the girls realize that being popular might not be the best thing, especially if it means you can't be you

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anymore.

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After "discovering" the last book in the series, I read the first just to see how it started. Especially for girls who like BFF stories, diaries, and graphic novels.