Ava and Pip

Carol Weston

Average Rating 9/10 (2 Reviews)

Meet outgoing Ava Wren, a fun fifth grader who tries not to lose patience with her shy big sister. When Pip's 13th birthday party turns into a disaster, Ava gets a story idea for a library contest.

But uh-oh, Ava should never have written Sting of the Queen Bee. Can Ava and her new friend help Pip come out of her shell? And can Ava get out of the mess she has made

"A love letter to language."--The New York Times
"Charming! Surprising! Inspiring!"--Karen Bokram, Founding Editor of Girls' Life
"An endearing story about two very different sisters."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A big W-O-W for Ava and Pip!"--Julie Sternberg, Like Pickle Juice On a Cookie
"Ava Wren makes reading and writing so much fun, she deserves a T-O-P-S-P-O-T on your bookshelf."--Dan Greenburg, author of The Zack Files and Secrets of Dripping Fang

Great for parents and educators looking for:
A heartwarming read incorporating messages of sisterhood, identity, and helping others.

Age Range: 10 - 12 years

Review by Amelie G. (040720) Rating (9/10)
Review by Molly Martin (010520) Rating (9/10)

Review by Amelie G. (11)
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10
Ava is a ten year old girl that adores writing stories, she talks a lot and only likes short books, but her twelve year old big sister, Pip, is extremely shy and hardly ever talks, she loves to draw and to read all different kinds of books. Bob is the father of Ava and Pip and he is a playwright (someone who writes plays). Anna is the mother of Ava and Pip, she runs the office at a vet called Dr. Gross, who is more grumpy than gross. As you can see Ava, Pip, Bob and Anna are palindromes (words that are the same backwards and forwards) so they classify themselves as wordnerds, so when they find out a palindrome, it is normally very funny, for example: evil olive, yo banana boy, a nut for a jar of tuna.

Pip’s birthday was coming up but one day after school Pip came home sobbing because no one could come to her party as they all went to another party instead at the new girl’s house, Bea’s. Pip thought it was unfair and Ava was angry. The school librarian asked Ava if she wanted to take part in the Misty Oaks Library Contest, so Ava agreed and wrote the Sting of the Queen Bee. The story was about a horrible girl named Bea who was a friend stealer, and to teach her a lesson she got stung on the nose by the Queen Bee. Ava did not win the competition, but the judge was happy with what she had written. It took a while until Bea noticed that Ava had written about her, but once she did she was not happy!

Ava was wrong from what she had said about Bea as you can’t steal friends. The moral of this book was: You shouldn’t jump to conclusions about somebody. Thankfully in the end everything turns out alright and even Pip gains more confidence.

I like that Carol Weston writes the book in the style of a diary, because it is kind of unique as I don’t know any other books in that style except from Diary of a Wimpy Kid which I recommend for boys instead of Ava and Pip. The book shows that you shouldn’t guess what a person is like if you just know one fact or if you have never met before like in this book, so it is always good to learn more about an acquaintance as they might turn out to be totally different. Another thing I’ve learnt from the book is that you shouldn’t roast people where everyone can see it because they will think less of the person you are roasting but they’ll also think you’re mean as well.

I enjoyed that you always want to know what will happens next so you keep on reading it as it is so intense! I recommend this book for 9-13 year olds as they are close to Ava and Pip’s ages. That is why this book is one of my favourites.
Amelie G. (11) (4th July 2020)

Review by Molly Martin
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10
Carol Weston’s Ava and Pip begins a new series of middle grade novels produced by a talented writer who really has a finger on the pulse of the 9 -12 age group.

Ava is an outgoing fifth grader who loves words, writing in her diary and her family. It is through Ava’s diary that The Reader comes to understand Ava and the problems she stumbles into in an effort to ‘right the wrong’ she considers has been perpetrated against her sister Pip.

We discover how Ava and her family enjoy palindromes and word games, realize that Ava, as many kids in this middle grade age group, wonders if her family is nutty, more than other families, or perhaps it is that all families are a bit nutty.

Ava is deeply concerned with her older sister Pip’s shyness. Pip was a preemie, is smaller than Ava and seems to be getting more than her fair share of their parents’ attention.

School is a fun place, most of the time, for the extroverted Ava who does well in most classes, has many friends, spends lunch time with a group of friends while Pip sits alone, is tormented at times by a group who call her pipsqueak and make squeaking sounds.

Following an awkward embarrassing situation perpetuated by Ava; Ava finds a surprising and unexpected ally in her quest to help her sister.

The pages of her diary allows The Reader to follow along as Ava learns important life and social lessons, begins her first steps away from little kid and starts the maturation process that will mean success for her future as an older kid and finally as an adult.

During my long, 36 year, tenure as a public school educator I spent most of my classroom time in the K 1 setting. However, after a hiatus following a move from California to Oklahoma I again entered the public school setting; this time as a fourth grade teacher for two years, before returning to K 1.

Carol Weston’s earlier Melanie Martin series was very popular with my two fourth grade classes. Each day I read a chapter after lunch before the books were made available for students to take home, I was a little surprised, and pleased as well, that the boys in class opted to take Melanie home to share with sisters and Moms.

I like this new series every bit as much as, if not more, than the Melanie series.

The diary style of writing, the palindromes and the situations Ava finds herself rushing headlong into are all very persuasive for the 9 – 12 age group. Were I still teaching today, I would be introducing Ava during an after lunch reading period, and, am confident that students would find them as provocative and intriguing as did my first students here in Oklahoma.

Middle grades is a time of many emotional ups and downs, mood swings and, at times tilting at windmills. This age tends to see everything as right or wrong, good or bad, and why, how, when. I like palindromes, and have found kids; whether 9-year-olds, or 6-year-olds, to be fascinated with them. I like that Writer Weston tosses in a good bit of just plain educational learning as well as good and newsworthy writing and a tale worth writing on the pages of Ava and Pip.

I actually read the second book in the series first, but when I realized Pip was first went back and read before beginning the reviews. While the series can be picked up at any point, I believe, reading Pip first does set the scene for future books in the series; I would introduce Pip first in the classroom.

Dandy book for promoting student discussion regarding everyday happenings, drama and drama as seems to be part and parcel of the middle grades Ava and Pip will allow students exploration of their own behaviours and hopefully further understanding that working on problem solving is likely to be more productive than jumping to conclusions and perhaps causing grief to self and others.

I like this series and have every expectation middle grade students will as well. Happy to recommend for classroom, public and school libraries and as a gift for a middle grader, or an end of third grade ready for fourth student.
Molly Martin (1st May 2020)