Andy Shane and Dolores Starbuckle's friendship is tested when a new girl named Lark Alice Bell joins their class. Andy Shane is assigned to be her classroom buddy that day which makes Dolores very jealous. The two really hit it off at recess when Lark joined Andy Shane in his snow fort and began to talk about the puppies that Lark's dog just had. Andy Shane told her that he always wanted a puppy and that his grandma might let him get one. Lark offered Andy Shane one of her puppies and they met over the weekend to convince his grandma; however, Dolores didn't realize any of this and believed that Lark was stealing her best friend. She confronted the two when they were leaving to go to Lark's house to get the puppy and once Andy Shane explained everything to her, they all became friends.

Plot Summary: In this short chapter book, a new girl moves to Andy's school. The teacher wants him to be her helper and to show the new girl around school. They quickly become friends and everyone thinks that Andy likes her. Andy's best friend Dolores begins to get jealous because he is spending so much time with the new girl. People at school begin to think that Andy has a crush on the new girl Lark. At the end of the story, Dolores realizes that Andy was just being nice and that they can all be friends.

Extensions: I would use this in my classroom to teach the kids about being nice to other kids and to be accepting of other people. I could also use it as an example of why we should be friends with everyone.

'Andy Shane Is Not In Love' is a good example of realistic fiction, since the characters and subject matter are fictitious, but the events could happen in real life. This book is written for first and second graders, with the book's characters set to that approximate agel. In today's classroom, new students often arrive mid-year, and need to make friends. This book depicts the arrival of a new student, Lark, who is in need of friends. Unfortunately for Andy, Dolores feels slighted and jealous. By the end, Dolores shows us the value of friendship.
Media: pencil and water colors ( )

Children's Lit Class read ( )

I really enjoyed Andy Shane Is Not Love, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. One thing I liked about it was how the illustrations did not correspond to the story. The author uses descriptive words like, "Razzle Dazzle Red," but all the illustrations are in black and white. I thought this was a great because children can imagine the image in the colors that they thought fit the description. I also liked the how believable the characters were. Dolores becomes jealous when her best friend Andy makes a new friend which is a very common reaction that children have. The big idea of this story is that you can have more than one best friend. ( )