Janine is… different. She is her own unique person. She is one of a kind, and she refuses to change just because other people don’t think she’s cool! Then, Janine hears that the popular girl in her class is having a party, and Janine isn’t invited because she’s too strange. What will Janine do?

“No one says big words like that!”

It’s never too young to introduce children to the idea that individuality is something to be celebrated, and Maryann Cocca-Leffler’s Janine. is a great book introducing that topic. The illustrations are adorable, and many readers might see a bit of themselves in the title character, whether in her love of big words, the way she is unashamed of the things she does or even her fashion sense. The way it is written makes it a little clunky to read aloud, but aside from that, Janine. is a fun book with a message everyone can get behind.

.