Nikki & Deja

Meet Nikki and Deja, who live next door to each other and are best friends. They do everything together—watch Saturday morning cartoons, play jacks, jump double Dutch at recess, and help each other with their homework for Mrs. Shelby's third-grade class. But when an arrogant new girl arrives and Nikki and Deja form a club that would exclude her, the results are not what they expect. This warm, easy-to-read chapter book from an award-winning author captures all the joys and complexities of elementary school life—particularly friendships and cliques—with finesse and humor.

Will the new girl come between Nikki and Deja?

When an arrogant new girl comes to school, third-graders and best friends Nikki and Deja decide to form a club to exclude her. But the results are not what they expected—now they’re in a fight with each other!

Youngsters will find a lot to cheer for in this delightful story. The joys and complexities of school life are captured with finesse and humor, and the writing, complemented with charming illustrations, is spot on for readers ready to enjoy longer texts.

Look for more adventures with Nikki and Deja in Birthday Blues!

Publishers Weekly

In her first chapter book, English (Francie) perceptively explores the undercurrent of insecurity and rivalry that threaten two African-American girls' friendship. When Antonia moves into the neighborhood and tries to boss two best friends around, Deja elects to start a drill club and pointedly not invite the new girl. But when Nikki messes up at drill club tryouts, she anticipates rejection and hooks up with Antonia, who proposes an exclusionary club of their own. The plot is secondary to the authentically rendered backdrops of sidewalk games, the third-grade classroom and Saturday morning TV-watching. Better still are the author's careful tabs on the daily fluctuations in the girls' emotional lives: "She hadn't meant to say that.... And since she can't put the words back into her mouth, she's glad she's in front of her house because then she gets to stomp up her stairs and slam the door behind her." More probing than many chapter books, this title delivers the satisfaction of a full-length novel. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 6-10. (Dec.)

Laura Freeman has illustrated many books for young readers. Her work has also appeared in magazines and newspapers, including the The New York Times and New York magazine. Laura is a native New Yorker, and she lives with her family on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. You can learn more about her at www.members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2btzp/laura.

Karen English is a Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning author and an elementary school teacher. In addition to her three books about Nikki and Deja, she is the author of Hot Day on Abbott Avenue, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe, also published by Clarion Books. She lives in Los Angeles, California.