The very worst ever: First day, Worst day by Andy Nonamus, illustrated by Amy Jindra

 I am not the audience for this book. To be honest, I found it annoying and trivial. However, I am not the audience for a lot of books in my collection (like Pokemon or Minecraft, or historical fiction, or...) and it will definitely have an audience.

  It's his first day at a new school, but everything that can go wrong is going wrong! Fortunately, this kid has prepared, by keeping his name, face, and all his personal information a complete secret, so no embarrassing stories will be linked to him! Behind his emoji-blocked face is a riot of fluffy orange curls and an outfit of jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie makes up the rest of this anonymous storyteller.

 The events are more silly than anything else, from being covered in syrup and chased by dogs to getting hit by a dodgeball - in the library, which apparently doubles as a gym. Fortunately, even though everything seems to be going wrong, this new kid still meets some great new friends and ends up riding home in a limo with the fabulous Regina Du Lar, new friend AND heiress of the famous Du Lar Video Game Emporium. Although some kids do laugh at the antics and are not always nice, mostly it's circumstances that are embarrassing, not bullying. Black and white photos fill the pages and the text is in a large font, similar to other Little Simon series like Good Dog and Critter Friends.

As I said, I am not the audience for this book and I know it won't click with my families who like more substantial and/or gentle reads. However, it will be very popular with the kids who like the Wimpy Kid style of book but aren't able to read at that level yet. It has a very contemporary snarky and self-deprecating feel to it, along with wild exaggerations, that feel very media-style to me. I would pair this with Press Start for books for adults trying to get kids away from screens and into reading.

Verdict: This will be very popular with a certain audience; it does push a little against stereotypes and the new friends are generally kind, so that's a positive component. Sure to be popular with kids who like sit-com style humor and parents and teachers looking for younger alternatives to Wimpy Kid.

ISBN: 9781665942201; Published January 2024 by Little Simon; ARC provided by publisher; Purchased for the library