Big-hearted, full of promise and whimsy, and seriously entertaining, The Littlest Bigfoot is a sure winner for middle grade readers.
Alice Mayfair just does not fit in--anywhere! She's big for her age, well, she's enormous. Her hair is a tangled mop that she has no control over. Every school Alice goes to, something goes wrong and she is asked to leave or worse, she herself wants to leave to avoid further confrontation. Her parents just don't know where to turn until Miss Merriweather finds her a new school: The Experimental Center of Love and Learning. Alice dutifully packs and take the trip to Standish Town.
The school is located the woods in upstate New York and run by a quirky hippie-ish, yoga posing, granola eating, meditation practicing couple who probably study Mother Earth News magazine, grow their own pesticide-free food and live off of the grid. Alice doesn't seem to mind the strange camp/school and settles in to her cabin and begins helping the cook in the camp's kitchen.
Just across the lake lies a secret community of Bigfoots who are afraid of humans and fear discovery.Millie is the littlest bigfoot--so little, in fact, that she doesn't resemble any of her tribe. Millie is charming, intelligent and curious--too curious for her own good.
Two worlds collide when the girls meet by chance, but each girl brings something to their unique friendship. A boy from town is convinced he will find a Bigfoot. When he joins forces with another Bigfoot hunter, the Internet notices. What will happen if he digs too deep?
Jennifer Weiner takes this tale of sweet friendship to the next level. The message that we are all different comes across with a warning that sometimes differences are the reasons actions happen. The ending allows readers to guess what happens to Millie and Alice. Alice is left with many more questions than answers but sets the stage for book two.
The Yare (Bigfoot) dialect is charming. Children are known as "littlies" and snacks are "snackles." The Bigfoot tribe even has a source of income. They have their own Etsy store selling all natural remedies they get/make from the forest
Highly, highly recommended grade 4-up. 9781481470742
Recommended by: Pamela Thompson, Library Media Specialist, Texas USA
See more of her recommendations: https://
****** From the publisher: From the New York Times bestselling author of Hungry Heart Jennifer Weiner comes a laugh-out-loud funny and painstakingly real tale of friendship, furry creatures, and finding the place where you belong. Alice Mayfair, twelve years old, slips through the world unseen and unnoticed. Ignored by her family and shipped off to her eighth boarding school, Alice would like a friend. And when she rescues Millie Maximus from drowning in a lake one day, she finds one. But Millie is a Bigfoot, part of a clan who dwells deep in the woods. Most Bigfoots believe that people—NoFurs, as they call them—are dangerous, yet Millie is fascinated with the No-Fur world. She is convinced that humans will appreciate all the things about her that her Bigfoot tribe does not: her fearless nature, her lovely singing voice, and her desire to be a star. Alice swears to protect Millie’s secret. But a league of Bigfoot hunters is on their trail, led by a lonely kid named Jeremy. And in order to survive, Alice and Millie have to put their trust in each other—and have faith in themselves—above all else.
