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Me and Rolly Maloo
Would you cheat to be popular? That’s the question, Jenna Lee is faced with in this part middle grade coming-of-age part graphic novel that explores the complicating circumstances that come with growing up.
Rolly Maloo, is popular and smart, but not as smart as Jenna Lee, and she worries that she won’t earn a spot in the annual math competition. When Rolly approaches Jenna, Jenna thinks it may be too good to be true, but it is not until Jenna is asked to help Rolly cheat on a test that Jenna’s suspicions are confirmed. Wong writes in the alternating voices of Jenna and Rolly, as well as their classmates, teachers, and parents, allowing readers to see all sides of the dilemma. Buttler’s frequent black and white, graphic-novel-style artwork is emotive and lively, bringing depth to the characters as well as to their reactions.
A thoughtful and heartfelt exploration of the issues of cheating, popularity, and integrity that all kids face along the way.
Rolly Maloo, is popular and smart, but not as smart as Jenna Lee, and she worries that she won’t earn a spot in the annual math competition. When Rolly approaches Jenna, Jenna thinks it may be too good to be true, but it is not until Jenna is asked to help Rolly cheat on a test that Jenna’s suspicions are confirmed. Wong writes in the alternating voices of Jenna and Rolly, as well as their classmates, teachers, and parents, allowing readers to see all sides of the dilemma. Buttler’s frequent black and white, graphic-novel-style artwork is emotive and lively, bringing depth to the characters as well as to their reactions.
A thoughtful and heartfelt exploration of the issues of cheating, popularity, and integrity that all kids face along the way.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
About the author
Janet S. Wong
51 books33 followersJanet S. Wong was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Southern and Northern California. As part of her undergraduate program at UCLA, she spent her junior year in France, studying art history at the Université de Bordeaux. When she returned from France, Janet founded the UCLA Immigrant Children's Art Project, a program focused on teaching refugee children to express themselves through art.
After graduating from UCLA, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in History and College Honors, Janet then obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was a director of the Yale Law and Technology Association and worked for New Haven Legal Aid. After practicing corporate and labor law for a few years for GTE and Universal Studios Hollywood, she made a dramatic career change—choosing to write for young people instead. Her successful switch from law to children’s literature has been the subject of several articles and television programs, most notably an O Magazine article, a "Remembering Your Spirit" segment on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and the Fine Living Channel’s "Radical Sabbatical."
Janet's poems and stories have been featured in many textbooks and anthologies, and also in some more unusual venues. Poems from Behind the Wheel have been performed on a car-talk radio show. "Albert J. Bell" from A Suitcase of Seaweed was selected to appear on 5,000 subway and bus posters as part of the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority's "Poetry in Motion" program, and was later highlighted on the Hallmark Channel’s "New Morning" show. And, in April 2003, Janet was one of five children’s authors invited to read at The White House Easter Egg Roll.
Janet and her books have received numerous awards and honors, such as the International Reading Association's "Celebrate Literacy Award" for exemplary service in the promotion of literacy, and the prestigious Stone Center Recognition of Merit, given by the Claremont Graduate School. Janet also has been appointed to two terms on the Commission on Literature of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Janet currently resides near Princeton, NJ, with her husband Glenn and her son Andrew.
After graduating from UCLA, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in History and College Honors, Janet then obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was a director of the Yale Law and Technology Association and worked for New Haven Legal Aid. After practicing corporate and labor law for a few years for GTE and Universal Studios Hollywood, she made a dramatic career change—choosing to write for young people instead. Her successful switch from law to children’s literature has been the subject of several articles and television programs, most notably an O Magazine article, a "Remembering Your Spirit" segment on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and the Fine Living Channel’s "Radical Sabbatical."
Janet's poems and stories have been featured in many textbooks and anthologies, and also in some more unusual venues. Poems from Behind the Wheel have been performed on a car-talk radio show. "Albert J. Bell" from A Suitcase of Seaweed was selected to appear on 5,000 subway and bus posters as part of the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority's "Poetry in Motion" program, and was later highlighted on the Hallmark Channel’s "New Morning" show. And, in April 2003, Janet was one of five children’s authors invited to read at The White House Easter Egg Roll.
Janet and her books have received numerous awards and honors, such as the International Reading Association's "Celebrate Literacy Award" for exemplary service in the promotion of literacy, and the prestigious Stone Center Recognition of Merit, given by the Claremont Graduate School. Janet also has been appointed to two terms on the Commission on Literature of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Janet currently resides near Princeton, NJ, with her husband Glenn and her son Andrew.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 25, 2010
I sat reading part of this book to my husband this morning when he finally got up. I told him that no book this simple should bring up such strong emotions in me, but it did. Let me start by saying it struck a nerve with me because I am a 6th grade teacher. I see bullying and unfair treatment of teachers and unfair parents all the time.
Jenna is a poor girl who wears second hand clothes, Molly and Patsy are the two popular girls whose mothers are in charge of the PTO. The district test is coming up and and the winner usually competes in the county competition. That is usually Jenna. Molly and Patsy decide to get Jenna to help them cheat. When they call and invite her over, her mother tells her no. She mistakenly thinks they want to be her friend. The next day they toss a note to her asking for an answer and she helps them knowing it is wrong. Then a second balled up note flies across the room and she is caught. She doesn't tell on the girls and that is where the trouble for me began. The guilty girls mothers gossiped about the situation not knowing the whole story. By the time the story had gotten around school and finally back to the principal at home, Innocent people had been pulled in and the teacher had been called and chewed out.
I kept seeing the injustice being done to students and the teacher because some thought themselves better than others. I loved the underlying story of taking kids out of PE, Art and Music to put them in a second math class instead of bringing in a tutor to help them. In our district we call that remedial math. Anyway, I loved this book.
Jenna is a poor girl who wears second hand clothes, Molly and Patsy are the two popular girls whose mothers are in charge of the PTO. The district test is coming up and and the winner usually competes in the county competition. That is usually Jenna. Molly and Patsy decide to get Jenna to help them cheat. When they call and invite her over, her mother tells her no. She mistakenly thinks they want to be her friend. The next day they toss a note to her asking for an answer and she helps them knowing it is wrong. Then a second balled up note flies across the room and she is caught. She doesn't tell on the girls and that is where the trouble for me began. The guilty girls mothers gossiped about the situation not knowing the whole story. By the time the story had gotten around school and finally back to the principal at home, Innocent people had been pulled in and the teacher had been called and chewed out.
I kept seeing the injustice being done to students and the teacher because some thought themselves better than others. I loved the underlying story of taking kids out of PE, Art and Music to put them in a second math class instead of bringing in a tutor to help them. In our district we call that remedial math. Anyway, I loved this book.
April 17, 2012
I’m trying to decide how I feel about this book; trying to understand my reaction. It’s a mix of things, which makes sense, because the book is a hybrid in a number of ways. It’s about half text and half graphic novel. Half focused directly on Jenna Lee, the “Me” of the title, and half on the other characters. A little more than half of the book’s attention is devoted to the kids involved in the story, but plenty is spared for the adults. It’s technically about cheating on a test, but it’s also about interpersonal dynamics, peer pressure, gossip and rumors, education, respect, bullying, and classism, if not more. There’s so much here--especially for a quick, easy read about fourth graders in a single situation--that’s it’s hard to digest it all.
Rarely have I seen a book for readers this young deal so honestly and directly with adults as flawed, imperfect people no different than their children. I love that as an adult reader; but I’m not sure how kids will react to it. And I’d love to know. Which leads me to a potential conclusion I can state about Me and Rolly Maloo: While I enjoyed reading this book for myself, I think it’s one most ideally read in a group setting. The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that this would make a great choice for a young (or parent-child) book club to read together and discuss. I imagine there would be no end to the discussions that would come out of this book, precisely because it has so much going on in it.
Rarely have I seen a book for readers this young deal so honestly and directly with adults as flawed, imperfect people no different than their children. I love that as an adult reader; but I’m not sure how kids will react to it. And I’d love to know. Which leads me to a potential conclusion I can state about Me and Rolly Maloo: While I enjoyed reading this book for myself, I think it’s one most ideally read in a group setting. The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that this would make a great choice for a young (or parent-child) book club to read together and discuss. I imagine there would be no end to the discussions that would come out of this book, precisely because it has so much going on in it.
July 2, 2011
Janet Wong has written a fun graphic novel hybrid about a bunch of fourth graders. Jenna Lee is considered 'odd' and has a hard time making friends, especially with the cool girls in fourth grade. Once school starts, Molly wants Jenna to help her out on a beginning of the year math test. Their caring and independently-minded teacher, Mrs. Pie, catches a note and works diligently to get to the bottom of the whole cheating scandal. The moms also get caught up in finding out who cheated and making sure that everyone is punished. In the end, everything is uncovered and fairly resolved. Jenna's mom also gains some confidence and takes steps toward financial stability.
This is a very realistic and mature novel. The voice was authentic and treats young people very respectfully, which I appreciate. I also loved the fact that the students were very diverse. I did, however, find it difficult to keep all the characters straight; Wong has included a helpful Cast of Characters. There are also a few details that I question. Several of the illustrations show phones with cords and I feel like this is a pretty dated detail to include in the illustrations. The kids also do pretty advanced math; I wouldn't expect incoming fourth graders to be able to do percents.
I recommend this book for students in grades 4 - 5, particularly those who are strong readers or who are facing challenging school situations.
This is a very realistic and mature novel. The voice was authentic and treats young people very respectfully, which I appreciate. I also loved the fact that the students were very diverse. I did, however, find it difficult to keep all the characters straight; Wong has included a helpful Cast of Characters. There are also a few details that I question. Several of the illustrations show phones with cords and I feel like this is a pretty dated detail to include in the illustrations. The kids also do pretty advanced math; I wouldn't expect incoming fourth graders to be able to do percents.
I recommend this book for students in grades 4 - 5, particularly those who are strong readers or who are facing challenging school situations.
January 9, 2012
I should give it five stars just for the current topic it introduced: helicopter, gossiping parents! This book takes one (pretty minor) event of cheating at school and traces how it gets blown out of proportion by gossip. The gossipers? Students AND their parents. The book is the first I've read that portrays helicopter parents who discuss every small event in their child's day and then pass it along without bothering to check for accuracy. Of course every parent doesn't act like parents in this book. But many parts will ring true with my students.
After reading this book, I realized this part of school (parents that hang around school and wait for the next PTA meeting, parents that constantly gossip about other kids, etc.)hasn't been shown in the dozens of other 'school stories' written lately. In a typical school story, the parents are the wise role models that sweep in with the teacher and settle disputes. I liked this edgy (and more realistic) angle.
After reading this book, I realized this part of school (parents that hang around school and wait for the next PTA meeting, parents that constantly gossip about other kids, etc.)hasn't been shown in the dozens of other 'school stories' written lately. In a typical school story, the parents are the wise role models that sweep in with the teacher and settle disputes. I liked this edgy (and more realistic) angle.
November 19, 2013
Genre- Post Modern Picture Books
Jenny Lee is a smart girl who is just a little bit odd. She and her mom do not have a lot of money, she is not popular, and she loves math. The popular, smart and pretty girl asks Jenny to help her cheat on a math test, and all of Jenny's ideals and morals are put to the test. Wong writes with the innocence of an elementary school child, but with the wisdom of a veteran parent. She perfectly captures the increasing pressures placed on children at a young age to perform well and be "perfect", especially pressure from teachers, principals and parents. She also perfectly captures the drama of childhood, accompanied by the gossip of PTAs and kids on the play ground. The most interesting part is ever chapter is followed by a comic strip to demonstrate what happened after the chapter ended. Also, the author included cartoons strips with dialogue bubbles as an essential part of following the plot- a sort of modern twist on how kids read books.
Jenny Lee is a smart girl who is just a little bit odd. She and her mom do not have a lot of money, she is not popular, and she loves math. The popular, smart and pretty girl asks Jenny to help her cheat on a math test, and all of Jenny's ideals and morals are put to the test. Wong writes with the innocence of an elementary school child, but with the wisdom of a veteran parent. She perfectly captures the increasing pressures placed on children at a young age to perform well and be "perfect", especially pressure from teachers, principals and parents. She also perfectly captures the drama of childhood, accompanied by the gossip of PTAs and kids on the play ground. The most interesting part is ever chapter is followed by a comic strip to demonstrate what happened after the chapter ended. Also, the author included cartoons strips with dialogue bubbles as an essential part of following the plot- a sort of modern twist on how kids read books.
March 1, 2015
Me and Rolly Maloo Book Review It'll be interesting to see how many graphic novels I breeze through this year. Their super fast and very enjoyable. Me and Rolly Maloo is able to deliver a realistic moral value and be rather touching about it at the same time.
Jenna isn't as popular as Rolly Malooo. But she is smarter. So when Rolly passes a note asking Jenna to give her the answer to a very important math test Jenna feels forced and wants a friend. This one decision can change Jenna's entire school life, and not for the better.
I really liked this book because it teaches kid not to teach or feel pressured to do something you don't want to just because someone popular asks you to. There are always consequences. An easy to read graphic novel with cute and clever pictures. I am finding, however, that I like the colorful ones more than the black and white.
Jenna isn't as popular as Rolly Malooo. But she is smarter. So when Rolly passes a note asking Jenna to give her the answer to a very important math test Jenna feels forced and wants a friend. This one decision can change Jenna's entire school life, and not for the better.
I really liked this book because it teaches kid not to teach or feel pressured to do something you don't want to just because someone popular asks you to. There are always consequences. An easy to read graphic novel with cute and clever pictures. I am finding, however, that I like the colorful ones more than the black and white.
May 2, 2011
Bullying is in the news a lot these days, and this is a book that handles the topic well. Jenna is a math whiz, but not popular. Rolly Maloo is very popular, but needs help to pass her math whiz. Rolly and her best friend get Jenna to give them answers on a test, and then leave her to take all the blame when cheating is discovered. Worse, Rolly and her friends' moms start rumors about Jenna and her friends to make them seem like awful people, which they are not. I was interested to see how cheating leads to bullying and how parents somehow get caught up in things they should stay out of. There is a terrific teacher in this story who does the right thing in a believable way. This book also cleverly combines text and graphic novel elements in a way that I think will make it very appealing to kids in grades 3 and up. I suspect this will be very popular.
September 25, 2012
This book is interesting because it is written from the point of view of the main character, Jenna, but it uses speech and thought bubbles to give other characters' perspectives. Jenna is a math whiz and when the most popular girl in school throws her a note asking for an answer on a test, Jenna is torn as to what to do.
The style of this book allows the reader to experience the 'behind the scenes' action of the book. It also exposes the socio-economic prejudices held by some parents. It had a pretty simple plot, but one that all kids can relate to.
This book would be good for 3-5th graders.
The style of this book allows the reader to experience the 'behind the scenes' action of the book. It also exposes the socio-economic prejudices held by some parents. It had a pretty simple plot, but one that all kids can relate to.
This book would be good for 3-5th graders.
April 7, 2011
This book was definitely intended to offer a discussion of the ethics of cheating in a more hip-and-now partially graphic novel format. However, it just does not jump past educational into interesting. Some of the characters strain to be more than their stereotypical depictions (heart-of-gold smart but poor girl, self-involved rich girls). However, the occasional switch to comic book format almost seems to work against that because it reduces their depiction to a very condensed and brief presentation that eludes added detail.
February 4, 2016
Popular Rolly Maloo asks Jenna to help her cheat on a math test and Jenna is torn. Cheating is wrong but it's Rolly asking her for help! Jenna gives in and is caught by their teacher Mrs. Pie. It's not immediately clear who's involved in the cheating and Jenna isn't forthcoming with information. But classmate Shorn L. saw it all and is determined to see justice done and Jenna's name cleared. The book covers a topic relevant to just about every grade level but I found the side stories distracting (the social-climbing PTA moms and the push/pull between the principal and Mrs. Pie).
April 23, 2011
This book was highly reviewed and I bought it because I thought it might be a good read-aloud for my fourth-grade class. I was surprised to find that it was partially a graphic novel which made it more difficult. This was a story about cheating on a test and compromising one's integrity for popularity. I am not sure about the graphic novel format. I know the kids love it but I find it hard to follow.
January 7, 2011
I met Janet Wong at NCTE when she signed this book for me. Jenna has to decide if she should help Rolly (the most popular girl in the class) on the math test. This book has a lot to talk about...hard decisions about whether or not to cheat, gossiping mothers, good friends, and being true to yourself.
March 22, 2011
I thought this was a great book with so many issues to talk about. I think Janet Wong did an amazing job of capturing the feelings and motivations of so many characters. A great book for middle grade readers. It would make a good read aloud but the parts that are more graphic might be hard to share. Definitely a great one for book clubs.
August 1, 2010
Blend of traditional text and graphic novel, this book seemed realistic as I remember my school days. A smart but poor girl is pressured to cheat by a richer and popular classmate. I enjoyed hearing from the many different voices throughout this quick read.
September 23, 2010
This was SUCH a typical "problem novel." Lying/rumors/cheating/cliques/poverty is a lot to jam into a 128 pages, especially when a third of those pages are pictures.
Adding in some graphic novel type images doesn't make it new or fresh.
Adding in some graphic novel type images doesn't make it new or fresh.
September 28, 2010
One Sentence Review: While it does bring up some interesting questions about ethics in the lives of everyday kids, the villains here are more two-dimensional thank I would have liked.
December 31, 2011
Saved from being overly didactic by the strong narrative voice and illustrations. Made me want pie like whoa.
September 22, 2012
Would be interesting to read aloud to grades 3-4. Handles issue of cheating with honesty and discomfort. Well written.
July 26, 2011
I enjoyed this book about school and friends and what to do when someone wants to use you cheat.
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December 4, 2013school, cheating on tests, popularity
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews