Twelve-year-old Bernice Baransky likes the grunge look she’s come by honestly as the only girl at Porchtown Skate Park who can pop an ollie, ride the rails, and grind the slabs. She’d love to impress Wyatt Anderson, a skater who calls her Dude, but Bernice can’t seem to do more than mumble when he’s around. Should she accept help from a new neighbor, the proper and princessy Odelia, who is desperate to befriend her? Odelia keeps a fancy notebook called Odelia's Guide to the Social Graces and spouts off hilarious lessons on poise, posture, manners, and what to do about embarrassing “oopsies” like unexpected burps and spilled soda. This exciting story takes readers on a thrill ride from the skate park’s half-pipe to Smile Academy, a summer camp for Down syndrome children. A novel full of adventure and heart, it asks the question: can two very different people ever be friends?
Timothy Young has been an animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, art director, and graphic designer. He is the author/illustrator of The Angry Little Puffin. His favorite part of being an author is traveling to schools and talking to kids.
Nancy Viau is the author of five picture books and several middle-grade novels, including the Schiffer titles Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, Beauty and Bernice, and Just One Thing! (a 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year). A former teacher and kid at heart, she often visits elementary schools to share her journey to publication and the writing process. Nancy works as a seasonal assistant librarian, and when not reading or writing, she searches for adventure at home and abroad.
Beauty and Bernice is a fun story about middle schoolers fitting in and finding their place and who they are. There's Bernice, who loves skateboarding, and there's Odelia, the pink "princess" who lives across the street. An unlikely pairing, however, they both learn and grow from each other once they let go of their obvious differences. (Ages 8-12) -- Midwest Book Review, Children's Bookwatch
