Operation: Upside is in full force!
Beatrice Zinker returns in another wonderful Shelley Johannes book in Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: Incognito! This time she is trying to hide in plain sight as Operation: Upside takes a wrong turn. After her success in Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, Beatrice is ready to give out more of her secret Upside recognition awards and her and her best friend Lenny have a candidate in mind. Wes is a good-hearted boy who often gets overlooked. He holds the door open for the other kids without so much as a nod. But Lenny notices. And she decides that Wes is going to get the next Operation: Upside certificate! Beatrice decides they don’t need to limit themselves to one at a time and sneaks an award into Mrs. Tamarack’s homework pile – with the words “Most Strict” written on it. Without a clue, Beatrice believes she is paying Mrs. Tamarack a compliment until Lenny helps her to understand not everyone will see it that way – especially not Mrs. Tamarack! Beatrice tries to figure out how to make it right with Mrs. Tamarack while also completing their mission to give Wes his own Upside Certificate. Chaos ensues.
Title: Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: Incognito!
Author: Shelley Johannes
Cost: $5.99 preorder on Amazon
Age: 7-10 (but great for reading together)
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Children’s Books; Young Readers
This is a great sequel to the first Beatrice book! It captures the heart of the first story while introducing us to new and engaging characters like Wes and Sam. All your favorites from the first book are back including Lenny (of course); Beatrice’s sister, Kate; Mrs. Tamarack; and even Mrs. Jenkins. I love Mrs. Jenkins. She reminds of the kindly older woman in the neighborhood who’s like an unofficial grandmother to everyone. She’s a wonderful catalyst for Beatrice, getting the young girl to consider new possibilities. We find out more about Kate and her relationship with Beatrice (she’s a good older sister). And the new kids to Beatrice’s story really stand out. I like Sam Darzi and I think any kid who is seen as “different” will find a kindred spirit in Sam. She is a little bit of a loner, but finds a loving spirit in Beatrice who takes the time to find out more about her.
Again, Shelley does a great job integrating story and art. It helps that she’s also the artist of the book! The art isn’t just an embellishment of the story. It’s actually part of the story itself! At one point, Beatrice decides to go “incognito” which is itself hilarious. Personally, I love the ninja pants under the pink dress. Shelley herself is so sweet and nice that it just comes through in Beatrice’s personality. But Shelley does a great job of fleshing out all her characters nicely. All of them have both good aspects of their character and things they need to work on, just like real life. It makes the story more believable and more enjoyable because you can see a little bit of you in these characters. I hope I’m mostly like Beatrice. She has such a wonderful outlook on life!
Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: Incognito! is a great book for the whole family and something that will inspire your kids (and maybe you, too!). Definitely worth picking up! You can preorder yours now!
- Incognito! comes out September 18 so be sure to get your copy.
- Find out about Shelley’s first book on the Disney Nerds blog and then read our exclusive interview with Shelley!
Disney Nerds 