The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown audiobook

My 8 year old daughter loved it and wrote a book review. Below is what she typed.I loved this book!!!!I like how Mya became friends with Connie. I also liked how Mya was really creative with spirit week. And even if she didn’t win spirit day she got something even better so I liked that things didn’t go the way that she planned she still got good things. I also liked Nugget’s friend Fish he was really funny and was really nice. Solo was not a nice person he was not actually Nugget’s friend he was pretending to be his friend so Nugget would do his math homework. Nugget soon found out that his real friend was Fish and not Solo. I really liked the book because everything was so creative and so exciting and I really enjoyed that book. I can’t wait for the next one.

I can’t imagine a middle grade aged child not loving Mya Tibbs, for I can’t fathom anyone of any age not falling instantly in love with this little girl. That’s what happened to me! Author Crystal Allen, with The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown, has created a captivating, energetic, ‘always has a plan’ nine year old, and Mya wins your heart. Allen’s amazing little girl from Bluebonnet, Texas, is convinced she can conquer the world—or at least win the spirit week challenge at her school. But first she has to weather the storms of being nine years old and not totally in control of her world. Her teacher foils her plan to pair up with her best friend and instead Mya gets linked with Mean Connie Tate as her spirit week challenge partner. But have no fear, Allen spins a warm tale filled with little girl intrigue and angst that ultimately satisfies us readers. And that’s no spoiler, for this is the first in a series of books about Mya, so we know she will finish a winner so she can go on to many more adventures. I see many, many young girls—and boys, too—devouring Allen’s Mya Tibbs series of books. And they will be far richer for having done so. This first of the series presents a diverse group without preaching. Mya obviously is a young black girl, but she lives in a universe where she is not a black girl, but just a girl, like all the others in her school, no matter what skin color. And isn’t that the way the world should work? Kids who read this are not only in for a lesson in diversity, they are in for a treat. They will eagerly finish the book, and then clamor for the next title. Allen has a winner here with Mya Tibbs, for as the title says, Mya is magnificent.

4.5 StarsA stereotype hog-tying tale of friendship, loyalty, empathy, and forgiveness. This book explores the pitfalls of “popularity,” along with the folly of judging people by their looks, clothing, or the rumors spread about them. It also examines the many faces of bullying—all on a vibrant level that most elementary-aged children should be able to connect with.Mya Tibbs is a spirited, well-meaning 4th-grader with a cowgirl obsession and a knack for tall tales. When a promise accidentally broken lands her on the bad side of her new super-popular “best friend,” the whole school begins calling her “Mya Tibbs Fibs.” As if being friendless and insultingly nicknamed weren’t enough, she also ends up stuck as Spirit Week partners with the school bully. At first, Mya thinks she’d be willing to do just about anything to get her friends back. But the more she tries to make amends, the more trouble she gets herself into—and the more she begins to realize the school bully isn’t who she thought she was. The book is written in first-person present-tense, entirely from Mya’s perspective. And in Mya we have a naively flawed but wholly likeable heroine. Allen’s prose stands out as bright, punchy, and engaging—well suited for the younger end of the Middle Grade spectrum. The character development is thoughtful and skillfully drawn; the revelations blatant without being too heavy handed.The sibling interactions between Mya and her brainy 5th-grade brother were an excellent balance to the storytelling—not to mention winsomely authentic. "It's my brother. His real name is Micah, but I call him Nugget because his skin is brown and his head is shaped like a chunk of chicken. He thinks I named him after a piece of gold." It’s easy to appreciate how “Nugget” is dealing with essentially the same things as Mya for most of the book--making the same socially-motivated mistakes in his own way. But while Mya is critical of him, she can't quite see that she's doing the same thing. (Personal Note: My goddaughters used to do this all of the time, and it was hard to gently point out the hypocrisy in a way they could grasp. I see this book as being tremendously helpful in addressing such things.)The bullying theme struck a particularly valuable chord. The author chose to dodge the physical side and gave a careful look at the kind of conniving, manipulative, and controlling behaviors that most well-adjusted children will eventually encounter in certain conscience-lacking peers. As a result, this book has the potential to be used as a tool to aid kids in identifying and coping with social malignancy rather than falling prey to it. This reader would have preferred more depth to the physical descriptions, especially in the adults we’re introduced to along the way. I also wish the stakes for Mya had been a touch higher (as her primary motivation for winning VIP tickets to the festival seemed to center around free food--although, it did up the conflict between the girls who had more specific reasons for wanting to win.) Overall this was a worthwhile read, and one I would gladly recommend.

Early middle grade readers have a new best friend! Crystal Allen has created a unique, jump-off-the-page character in Mya Tibbs, the rootin’est tootin’est kid in fourth grade. The wonderful cast of school friends (and enemies), teachers, school principal (you’re going to love his Spirit Week costume!) and a warm, loving family guarantee this series will be a sure hit.

A must read for kids of all ages! I love Mya, her spunk and her ka-clunck!Thank you, Crystal Allen.

Spirit Week is the best week at school and 9 year old Mya Tibbs is excited to be Spirit Week partners with her very popular BFF, Naomi Jackson. If the two girls win, they get coveted VIP tickets to the Fall Festival. But then things don’t go as planned and Mya ends up with Mean Connie Tate as a partner, and Naomi is furious. So furious, that other kids are calling Mya names and she has to think of a way to win back her BFF and survive being Connie’s partner. Good gravy!Crystal Allen’s The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown is truly that, a magnificent middle-grade read! This book is simply bursting with heart, funnies, and lovable characters. Allen’s pitch-perfect voice and wonderful storytelling will delight, amuse, and captivate. Mya’s story of mean girls, friendship woes, and being a good kid in a sometimes confusing world, is painted with age appropriate authenticity. Young readers will surely relate to the characters’ mishaps, struggles, and triumphs, and will greatly enjoy the Spirit Week activities.The vibrant, quaint, yet larger than life, Bluebonnet, Texas makes for a fun setting. And Allen has filled this vivid town with an awesome assortment of diverse characters. From Mya’s clever brother Nugget to a brave boy named Fish, Starr and Skye (twins who may be aliens), fabulous but maybe-not-so-nice Naomi, wacky Mr. Winky, supportive Mr. and Mrs. Tibbs, and surprising Connie, there are so many engaging and memorable characters to love...but I love Mya the most. This plucky, endearing, kind, heartfelt, cowgirl-loving gal, with her pink lucky boots and favorite vest, is sure to dazzle readers.my final thoughts: With an irresistible heroine, sparkling storytelling, warm heart, and laugh-out-loud humor, The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown is utterly charming and entertaining!

SPIRIT WEEK SHOWDOWN by Crystal Allen is the first book in the new Magnificent Mya Tibbs series for middle grade readers.Mya and her best friend Naomi plan to win the Spirit Week partners competition. However when Mya is reluctantly paired with Mean Connie Tate, her hopes for winning VIP tickets to the Fall Festival quickly disappear. This authentic, endearing story explores many kinds of friendships and what it means to be a friend.Librarians will find this charming and often humorous book to be a hit with fans of the classic Ramona books as well as more recent series such as Ivy and Bean. What makes this book timely is the way it handles the topic of diversity. Rather than being a focus of the story, Mya just happens to be a black girl in a diverse cast of characters living in Texas.Middle grade readers will be clamoring for the next book in what is sure to be a popular friends and family series.To learn more about the author, go to http://www.crystalallenbooks.com/.Published by Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins on January 26, 2016. ARC courtesy for the publisher.

Crystal Allen has written a wonderful book for my girls! Mya Tibbs is just like any of my students-struggling to make good decisions, trying make good friends and be one, and dealing with the ups and downs of school, family and life in general. And she does it with exuberance and joy, always throwing 100% at every task. I loved this book and know that my fourth and fifth graders will, too. Teachers will appreciate the cast of well-developed characters, the clear plot, and themes of friendship, forgiveness, and perseverance. I will be ordering #2 in the Mya Tibbs series immediately and can't wait to see what this irrepressible girl will get into in that one! Little side note--I was fortunate enough to briefly speak to Crystal Allen at the 2017 Texas Library Association conference and her joie de vivre was contagious. We all left her book signing line hoping that her book would be as wonderful as she seemed to be.

I really liked this book! It was sweet and heartwarming. I wish Naomi would have had some kind of punishment for being so nasty, but I guess a good life lesson is that you can only choose how you respond to other people. It seemed like some of the characters were either too old or too young compared to one another. I felt like Connie seemed too mature for Mya. However, Mya saying, “I’ll make better mistakes tomorrow” was just the best line of the whole book.

My kids really liked this book. It made them laugh, but also had good messages about real friendship, bullying and the damage that gossip and rumors can cause. The characters are lovable, and while parents may find the plot predictable, kids will be cheering for Mya, and happy with the ending.

Good gravy in the Navy that was good!!!

Very cute read!!! :-)