Billy: A Lolly Leopold Story Book

Room 7 is the classroom of Lolly Leopold and Billy Button—and a bunch of competitive teacher's pets, which makes preparing for the annual Pet and Produce Day absolutely dreadful for these two loveable and clever elementary school students. As Billy works on his entries for the competition, he is sent to the Quiet Room five times. He hates the overachieving Freddy and can’t seem to keep his opinions about it to himself. As their mindful teacher Ms. Love helps Billy find his creative strength, Lolly and Billy discover their own ingenuity and win special innovative prizes. Written with imagination and complemented with striking, inventive illustrations, this school tale is both touching and hilarious. 

Children's Literature

From the creative team that brought us Clubs: A Lolly Leopold Story comes the second in the series of original paperbacks. Billy is an imaginatively-told contemporary story starring Billy Button, one of Lolly's elementary school classmates. Billy always wears baggy shorts. His handwriting is atrocious. When he gets frustrated, Billy uses swear words. And in the week preparing for the annual Pet and Produce Day contests, he is sent to the Quiet Room five times by his understanding-yet-firm teacher, Ms. Love. You see, Room 7 has no lack of competitive students, and the worst offender is overachieving Freddy who loves to egg Billy on. As Ms. Love helps Billy find his creative center, Lolly helps Billy develop a creative entry which garners him, in the end, an equally innovative prize. As in the first book, Billy is written' by Lolly as her latest storybook installment. Author Kate de Goldi has written several young adult novels prior to writing this series, and her YA sensibility shows itself in the brash humor, sly observations and contemporary language she now brings to the picture book format. Similarly, the illustrations and page layout by fine artist Jacqui Colley are strikingly different from most picture books. The double-page spreads are crowded with handwritten notes (containing all the text), notebook doodles, chalkboard scribbles, lists, photos, and expressive paintings that frequently incorporate collage techniques. While delivered in the picture book form, the content is more solidly placed in the realm of middle-grade fiction. The title could be used very effectively with older readers still reading at a lower comprehension range and might appeal to those wholike to get their stories in small bits. Actually, anyone who ever went to elementary school would enjoy reading this. Reviewer: Dianne Ochiltree