Module 10: Smile

Summary: Raina is a middle school student who is having to get braces after knocking her front teeth out.  Hilarity and typical middle school situations ensue when she has to go through many different stages until she starts to look normal again. 

APA Reference: Telgemeier, R. (2010). Smile. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Impressions: Smile is such a cute book.  For the last 3 years I have taught those awkward middle school students and have loved every minute of them.  I never thought that I would like middle schoolers and my very first year I fell head over heels in love with them.  Raina totally reminded me of why middle school students are so awesome.  This great little graphic novel shows that no matter how hard life gets we can make it through with family and friends.  I was not sure of the graphic novel format at first but I am so looking forward to having time to read the next one in the series.  The characters are totally believable because the book is based on the author and events in her life according to the notes in the back of the book.  Smile is nice and refreshing in that completely captures life in middle school in a normal life kinda way.

Professional Review:

Review: Smile

DECEMBER 30, 2009 BY SNOW WILDSMITH

In sixth grade, Raina Telgemeier fell while running and severely damaged her two front teeth. Because of that she had to endure four years of braces, headgear, retainers, surgeries, and more in an effort to make her teeth look and work the way they should. On top of all of that, she also had to deal with the usual problems of teenage life: middle school, high school, best friends who aren’t, low self-image, crushes on boys, etc. Smile is her story of trying to find her way.

Smile
Raina Telgemeier
Age Rating: 9-14, Grades: 4-8
Scholastic Graphix, February 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-13205-3 (hdbk), ISBN: 978-0-545-13206-0 (pbk)
224 pages; $21.99 (hdbk), $10.99 (pbk)

Telgemeier has already proved that she can accurately portray the ups and downs of early adolescent life with her graphic novel adaptations of Ann M. Martin’s Babysitter Club books (also published by Scholastic Graphix). In Smile she uses her own history to talk to young teens and, by doing so, creates a level of authenticity which is hard to match. Even readers who aren’t forced to wear braces will identify with Telgemeier’s troubles with friends, feelings for the boy who ignores her, and difficulties figuring out just who she is. She doesn’t play the pity card; she just presents a situation and shows the reader how it made her feel. And since she was such an ordinary teen–not hugely popular, but not the bottom of the social heap–her experiences are accessible by a wide range of readers.

In her art it is clear that Telgemeier has a firm grasp of the comics medium. She never makes the mistake of telling what she could be showing. For example, when she develops a crush on Sean, a boy in her school, it occurs in two wordless panels, the emotions shown by blushing cheeks and a single, simple heart. Effective, age-appropriate, and believeable. Her characters are never childish, even if they are young. The young teens move from youthful bodies to the beginnings of womanly curves with just the right touch of awkwardness. Readers who enjoyed Telgemeier’s art in black and white in the Babysitter Club graphic novels will hopefully be thrilled to see that she’s in full color this time around. Stephanie Yue does the coloring and her bright, but not garish, color palette is a nice fit with Telgemeier’s deceptively simple style of art.

Even though this is a book about becoming a teenager, the physical details of adolescense are handled smoothly. There are some references to puberty, but nothing overly detailed, becauseSmile isn’t really about those physical changes. It’s about how something like braces or pigtails or wearing the wrong shirt can be life altering in middle school. How friends can affect how a teen sees him or herself for good or for bad. How the years between 12 and 15 are painful and strange. Telgemeier’s book is an excellent addition to middle school literature.

This review is based on a complimentary copy supplied by the publisher. All images copyright © Scholastic Graphix.

Wildsmith, S. (2009, December 30). Review: Smile. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2009/12/30/review-smile/

Library Uses: This graphic novel is about a girl who gets braces and it could be used to help a student who is down in the dumps because they are having to get braces also.