Don't Call Me Beanhead!

Beany #1

by Susan Wojciechowski

Meet Bernice Lorraine Sherwin-Hendricks, known as Beany by just about everyone except her older brother who calls her Beanhead. Beany's got 23 freckles, a bossy best friend, and a tendency to worry over just about everything. Like, for example, the time her loose tooth disappears down the drain. Will the tooth fairy still put money under her pillow—and how much? With an unfaltering touch for capturing the real concerns of a regular kid, Susan Wojciechowski presents five enormously entertaining stories about Beany's life at home and at school.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Childrens, Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1994

About the author

Susan Wojciechowski was a children's librarian for many years. "Every December," she says, "I read the same two or three classic Christmas stories aloud to the children. I tried to find another one I wanted to read and couldn't. So I wrote THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY. I've never written anything that way before. It just came through me in a flood of inspiration and was finished in less than an hour." THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY proved an enormous success, selling out its first printing long before Christmas Day. In addition, it won numerous honors, including the Christopher Award for "affirming the highest values of the human spirit" and Britain's prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal, and was a finalist for a National Book Award.

Following the success of THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY, Susan Wojciechowski wrote the acclaimed middle-grade novel BEANY (NOT BEANHEAD)! This time, inspiration came when she was in bed with a cold. "Beany just stayed there, and by the time I was well, the stories were written," she says. Beany has since had more adventures in BEANY AND THE MAGIC CRYSTAL and BEANY AND THE DREADED WEDDING, both of which were honored with a Parents' Choice Gold Award, and more recently, BEANY GOES TO CAMP and BEANY AND THE MEANY.


Along with the time she spends writing, Susan Wojciechowski makes many visits to schools, where she shows slides and talks about her books and her own life. Among the information she shares with children is the fact that, like many of them, she had no interest in writing when she was growing up. "In regard to writing for children, I like to create realistic kid role models," she says, "like Beany, who is not perfect, but tries hard." A native of Rochester, New York, Susan Wojciechowski now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.

Reviews

[Rhiannon's Reading Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life is full of worries for young Beany, making everyday activities difficult. A casual class talent show keeps her awake at night, and a simple mistake at school leaves her riddled with anxiety returning to her parents. Can Beany learn to overcome her anxiety and find more joy in daily life?

AGES 5-8

I’ve never read a book for young readers that depicted anxiety so perfectly. Beany is a young girl with high levels of anxiety. Despite a warm and loving family and a stable life, she constantly worries about getting in trouble, messing up, etc. This leads her to bite her nails, lose sleep, and attempt to hide any mistakes she makes. I love this honest story of a girl tackling her anxiety, and learning to put her own happiness first.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a super cute simple read, great for kids 5 to 11ish. I loved this book as a kid and still read it sometimes when I get bored. I would say 3.5 though because it's obviously a little kids book.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cuter than the Ramona Quimby book. Nothing like the Junie B. Jones books. But hey, those are gunna be hard to beat.

[Sarah Meadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little book. I love how each chapter is a different story.

[Maya Madhavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. I liked the tooth chapter the best.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 11412 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 4.2 - AR Pts: 1.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, VP

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great books for a sensitive child.

[Katrina Zartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for an adult to read, and admit you were like the girl in the book when you were a kid.

[Guen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but related stories.