Smile

Author/Illustrator: Raina Telgemeier 

Genre: Graphic Novel

Grade level: 3-6

A little girl name Raina wants to fit in like everyone else and be a normal 6th grader. One night after a girl scout meeting she trips and falls and injures her two front teeth. One problem leads to another and another. She keeps getting her braces taken on and off and on again. She gets surgery and a fake retainer with teeth attached. To top the icing on the cake she is forced to wear incredibly embarrassing headgear! She has to deal with many major problems on top of all these dental problems. She has to deal with boys, her friends that are being mean, and a major earthquake! At the end she grows up and stands up for herself and learns to love herself more than she ever could. 

This book is a great book for children. It teaches them about the pressures of school and friends and how to fit in. It can be used to teach children how their feelings of acceptance and some things they are feeling during school is normal and everyone feels it. There are some great vocabulary words that can be used for vocabulary tests and spelling, 

The illustrations are obviously in comic form. They are super fun and portray the characters in a very humorous way. You can tell exactly what each character is feeling. It is very lively and fluid.