My Life in Pictures

January 11, 2016
“I feel rotten!” That’s a recurring refrain for Beatrice Garcia Holmes, especially now that her best friend Yvonne has left for Australia and a “monster” of a kid named Bert has moved in next door. Bea shares her travails in a journal-style narrative filled with b&w illustrations—Bea is a talented artist, though it can cause trouble, as when she draws on the family’s TV (“I think Wendy the Weather Woman looks good with a mustache”). Zemke resists solving Bea’s problems too neatly—at book’s end, Bert is still annoying, and Yvonne is still in Australia—yet she clearly shows how art, self-expression, and humor can be solid allies when life doesn’t go as planned. Ages 6–8. Agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, Herman Agency.

December 15, 2015
Zemke introduces a creative, young protagonist whose skilled artistry captures imagination in a new series for early readers. Told and hand-illustrated by Beatrice Holmes Garcia, the story begins with Chapter 1, "This Book is My Life," aptly named after her sketchbook, in which she introduces her family: two parents, a younger brother, Pablo (whom she refers to as "the Big Pest"), and Sophie, their dog. Events kick off when Yvonne, Bea's "first and only used-to-be-until-she-moved-a-million-miles-away best friend," moves to Australia. Bea cannot help but feel rotten. Just when things cannot possibly get worse, Bert, an unruly, backward-baseball-cap-wearing boy, moves in next door. He terrorizes Bea's brother, ruins Bea and Yvonne's cardboard-carton fort, and obnoxiously calls her "Buzzy Bea" all the time. When Bert makes an attempt to abduct Bea's private notebook, she takes to the only retribution she knows: drawing. During geography class, she sketches the Marianas Trench, the lowest place on Earth, and at its depths is Bert in a shark cage, 36,000 feet below sea level. Following is an illustration of Bert atop Mount Everest. The next characterization features an overheated Bert in Death Valley. Astonishingly, even though Mrs. Grogan discovers these drawings, they lead not to perdition but redemption. There isn't anything real or imaginary that the endearing Bea cannot draw; she straddles fantasy and real life, and Zemke's black-and-white depictions are appealingly unadulterated. Readers will find inspiration to write, draw, explore, and imagine. (Fiction. 6-8)

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Starred review from January 1, 2016

Gr 1-3-Bea Garcia is an artist. As far as she's concerned, the world is her canvas; however, her family insists that she confine her drawings to her own book, titled My Life. It's all there: things she likes, things she doesn't, places to go, and things she'd like to happen. Readers meet Bea just as her best friend and next door neighbor Yvonne moves all the way to Australia. This blow was amplified when Yvonne's former address is taken over by Bert and his family. Bert is mean to Bea, terrorizes her little brother Pablo, and shows up in her classroom on the first day of school. Bea fears that her creativity has fled to Australia with Yvonne but finds that sending Bert across the world via her doodles helps her deal with the bully next door and even wins over her teacher and classmates. This is the first in a forthcoming series and offers young readers (both reluctant and otherwise) a smooth transition to chapter books with plenty of pictures breaking up the text. This precursor to diary-style middle grade books has enough action and personal conflict to hook readers early in the story and keep them coming back for future installments. VERDICT Bea Garcia is an honest and funny protagonist with whom readers will identify and want to check back with regularly.-Lindsay Jensen, Nashville Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2016
Grades 1-3 Bea Garcia is a budding artist, which is why her notebook (the book in readers' hands) is full of cartoon-style drawings that capture her childlike view of life. And what a viewthere are idealized sketches of her friendship with Yvonne, who has moved to Australia, and fantasies about them playing with kangaroos. There are also evil-eyed depictions of Bea's new next-door neighbora boy with flaring nostrils and pointy eyebrows who makes her life a trial. As the new school year opens, Bea gives vent to her feelings by drawing in her notebook during class. When her teacher confiscates the book, she fears the consequences, but luckily the teacher recognizes Bea's talent, and even her classmates appreciate her artistry. The boy next door becomes a little less monsterlike when he gains some fame from the pictures, and a letter from Yvonne makes Bea a little less lonely. The everyday ups and downs of Bea's life will be familiar to readers, who are sure to appreciate Bea's perky humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)