I adore this series. It has so much humor and heart-it's one of my favorite new-to-me things this year. Great for children and grown-ups, I can't think of who this wouldn't appeal to, but I think it would have a special appeal to Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts fans. Read it read it read it! ( )

On the story: The story centers around 9 year old Amelia after her parent's divorce. Amelia and her mom relocate and end up living with her Aunt Tanner. Each chapter/segment begins with Amelia speaking to the reader of the graphic novel and giving some background information on either her life, or the story coming up. Amelia shares with her readers stories about her secret crush and the love triangle between her, Rhonda and Reggie. She shares stories about her new school, the club she belongs to where she is a superhero. She shares stories about bullies that her and her friends try to fight off. My favorite story is the Christmas story, where her club/gang of super heroes try to prove Santa is not real. Throughout she relates how she feels about the divorce and her separation from her dad, and we see how she reacts to her mom's outbursts when her mom is on the phone with her dad. The last story provides a little bit of comfort when Amelia gets to go on a camping trip with her father and they have a heart-to-heart. This is definitely a series I want to follow so I can see what happens with Amelia, her friends, and her family.

On the style:
*I really enjoyed how Gownley useds the shirt on Pajamaman to portray emotions, moods, etc. as well as all of the ways he depicted moods and well-being through the speech bubbles. For example, Reggie when feels sick and says he feels sick, the speech bubble is a sickly green. When someone has an icy tone, the speech bubble looks like it has ice dripping off of it. There are even heart-shaped speech balloons. I especially like the storm cloud over Amelia's head when Rhonda shows up at her house.

*Also, any book that mentions Taco Bell multiple times is a winner, in my opinion!

*Loved the note-passing scenes, as well as the small touches like the chocolate moustache at the end, the hearts for eyes, Pajamaman's ever-changing shirt, and the blurred out backgrounds to emphasize distance. ( )

This graphic novel tells the story of a nine year old girl named Amelia who is trying to adjust to her new town after being forced to move because of her parents divorce. She does well for herself by becoming friends with Reggie, Pajamaman and Rhonda and after awhile she begins to feel comfortable in her new town.

This is a funny series about a girl called Amelia. Moving to a new town after her parent's divorce Amelia makes the transition from a New York City kid to a small town girl. She makes friends in her new town and learns to cope with her new school, friends, boys and life. A great graphic series for all ages. In the beginning of the book the characters are clearly described under meet the gang. Colorful graphics and and welcome to my world layout is helpful for young readers as they meet Amelia and follow her antics.

Amelia Rules is a funny and witty comic book reading for kids. In this book, we follow Amelia in different story plots. First with dealing with bullies and silly ways of handling them, then school issues like crushes, gym class, and the torture of waking up early. Then she moves along to fall, Halloween, and Christmas, dealing with being on the naughty list this year. Lastly, Amelia takes us on a camping trip with her dad. I like this book because Amelia's character is a strong female character, which is not very common. She isn't a typical girly girl either and faces the challenges she comes across with unique thoughts and actions. This could serve as a mentor text for graphic writing. The illustrations provide great examples of different styles and options of how to design their drawings while also incorporating text. The text level is for 4th grade and an accelerated reader. The text is small and uses exaggerated format that would require a reader who is strong in visual cues and meaning. ( )