Draw the Line Randall Williams
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Black Bee Bright, called BeeBee, narrates this book written in the form of diary entries. BeeBee is just about to turn thirteen and lives all alone with three "godmommies" and a tutor "on an island in the middle of very tropical nowhere." She feels compelled to complain about it before she explains how she got there:
"All this nature was fine when I was four. Even when I was
Both this Middle Grade story and its illustrations are absolutely adorable, and it is such a wonderful book for young girls!Black Bee Bright, called BeeBee, narrates this book written in the form of diary entries. BeeBee is just about to turn thirteen and lives all alone with three "godmommies" and a tutor "on an island in the middle of very tropical nowhere." She feels compelled to complain about it before she explains how she got there:
"All this nature was fine when I was four. Even when I was eight. In a week, I'll be THIRTEEN. I want air conditioning. I want window screens. I want a Forever Best Friend, and a Boyfriend!"
It turns out however, that BeeBee is isolated for her own safety; she is the daughter of the Raven King and Raven Queen, and was sequestered by her mama on Bee Isle when there was a war in Raven World. But Bee is sad and bored, and also stressed out: when she turns thirteen she is eligible to take the OPT ("Official Princess Test") to see if she qualifies to be a princess and eventually take over the throne of Raven World. Also, if she passes the test, she gets to travel between Bee Isle and the other two worlds: the Fairytale World and The Other World (or "the regular place"). But there is one more condition besides the test: she has to find and meet the eight princesses who are supposedly someplace on the island.
Turning thirteen is confusing for Bee. Lots of challenges are ahead. Her body is changing and the information the godmommies give her on her background is changing too. Can she manage it all? Can she pass the test, find a friend, find a boyfriend, meet the princesses, and find meaning in her life?
Evaluation: I can't adequately convey how cute and fun this book is. And although my plot summary makes it sound as if there is a lot of fantasy in this book, it really is more about being thirteen, learning values, and learning to love yourself. BeeBee is funny, brave, honest, curious about the world and about what it means to be a girl; sometimes silly and sometimes very grown up. The "godmommies" are terrific characters and role models, and the illustrations by Shadra Strickland are outstanding as well. Highly recommended for both you and the growing girls in your lives!
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No doubt, this book has a slow start. I thought I was going to be stuck in the world or preteen angst as scenes o
B.B. Bright is an orphan girl who lives on an island with her three godmommies. As she faces her thirteenth birthday, she begins to realize that she wants more than the protection of the island. She wants to meet boys, wear stylish clothes and have friends. But, to get off the island, she must pass the princess test. As she writes in her diary, we learn what her preparation requires.No doubt, this book has a slow start. I thought I was going to be stuck in the world or preteen angst as scenes of complaints lasted just a bit too long. I am so glad I didn't let that deter me from continuing to read. I was quickly lost in B.B.'s fantasy world which was framed in an expert use of language, crafted in master storytelling techniques and decorated with darling drawings. The authors took care to define each character and to underline their uniqueness, an essential element in the story's message. Readers who may not even have ever wanted to be a princess will realize the everyday, the ordinary specialness in princesses and indeed in themselves. Being a princess here is more a euphemism for being a woman than for living on a glass pedestal.
In writing this story with its positive messages, Randall and Williams use this brilliant young black girl to show all girls their potentials. Both women (who are mother and daughter) are accomplished writers in their own right and this is their first published novel collaboration. Tomorrow, I'll have post a recent interview with them.
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The cover of the book shows a beautiful African American girl with "skin the color of honey and eyes the color of chocolate, and lips the color of plums." Since bees are a large part of this book, it is also appropriate to see a queen bee on the cover and at the beginning of each chapter / diary entry. The black-and-white illustrations throughout the book add to the text of the book. The map of Bee Isle was very informative and the illustrations of the three godmothers was good in helping the reader get a visual of each one. Even more illustrations could have been added, but the book wisely chose to allow some pictures to only be in the reader's head.
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Thirteen-year-old orphan Black Bee Bright (B. B. for short) is funny, quirky, precocious, and adventurous. But B. B. has a secret. She's captive on an island in "the middle of very tropical nowhere" because she's forced to hide her true identity as a royally born princess from her parents' enemies in Raven World. B. B. must find a way to escape
A lively tale of one young woman's adventure to pass her Official Princess Test, discover a means of escape from her island, and reveal her true destiny.Thirteen-year-old orphan Black Bee Bright (B. B. for short) is funny, quirky, precocious, and adventurous. But B. B. has a secret. She's captive on an island in "the middle of very tropical nowhere" because she's forced to hide her true identity as a royally born princess from her parents' enemies in Raven World. B. B. must find a way to escape to "the Other World" where there are best friends and cool clothes, but she can't escape the island until she passes her Official Princess Test and undertakes a dangerous journey alone to the East side of the island, where eight princesses must help her discover what it truly means to be a princess.
I really liked reading this story.
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The story is written in letters to her diary, and charmingly illustrated by Strickland's line drawings. I think this book is really going to appeal to tween girl
The story heats up when she decides on her 13th birthday to take a secret trip across the desert in the middle of the island to explore the East side where there is rummored to be an angry bear and a tower where her mother used to live. What B. B. discovers on the other side of the island makes for an exciting, romantic, enchanting tale.The story is written in letters to her diary, and charmingly illustrated by Strickland's line drawings. I think this book is really going to appeal to tween girls who spend a lot of time dreaming and scheming and gazing out windows. Kind of like the girl I was...
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Randall is the first African Amer
Alice Randall (born Detroit, Michigan) is an American author and songwriter. Randall grew up in Washington, D.C.. She attended Harvard University, where she earned an honors degree in English and American literature, before moving to Nashville in 1983 to become a country songwriter. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee and is married to attorney David Ewing.Randall is the first African American woman to write a number one country hit. Over 20 of her songs have been recorded, including several top ten and top forty records; her songs have been performed by Trisha Yearwood and Mark O'Connor.
Randall is also a novelist, whose first novel The Wind Done Gone is a reinterpretation and parody of Gone with the Wind. The Wind Done Gone is essentially the same story as Gone with the Wind, only told from the viewpoint of Scarlett O'Hara's half-sister Cynara, a mulatto slave on Scarlett's plantation. The estate of Margaret Mitchell sued Randall and her publishing company, Houghton Mifflin, on the grounds that The Wind Done Gone was too similar to Gone with the Wind, thus infringing its copyright. The lawsuit was eventually settled, allowing The Wind Done Gone to be published. The novel became a New York Times bestseller.
Randall's second novel, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, was named as one of The Washington Post's "Best fiction of 2004."
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Draw the Line Randall Williams
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14596143-the-diary-of-b-b-bright-possible-princess