{"id":1326451294287,"title":"Ellie May on Presidents' Day","handle":"ellie-may-on-presidents-day","description":"\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/hillary-homzie\"\u003eHillary Homzie\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeffrey-ebbeler\"\u003e Jeffrey Ebbeler \u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"Just how far will Ellie May go to be chosen as class flag leader during the exciting week leading up to Presidents' Day?\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuirky and funny, second-grader Ellie May enjoys learning about US presidents. But she absolutely \u003ci\u003eloves\u003c\/i\u003e the idea of being class flag leader during the week before Presidents' Day. Tired of not being chosen to hold the flag, she makes it her mission to finally get picked. Along the way, Ellie May ends up karate chopping the class plant when she tries to determine whether George Washington actually chopped down that cherry tree. Next she takes apart the class pencil sharpener when she learns that Abraham Lincoln liked learning how gadgets work. Ellie May may not be perfect like Miss-Know-it-All Ava or calm like her best friend Lizzy, but she's good-hearted and eventually realizes that honesty and patience go a long way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.blogspot.com\/2018\/12\/charlesbridge-unplugged-18-hillary.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eListen\u003c\/a\u003e to author Hillary Homzie\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etalk\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eabout the Ellie May series\u003cem\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these:\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/ellie-may-on-april-fools-day\"\u003e Ellie May on April Fool's Day\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.com\/products\/belles-journey-an-osprey-takes-flight\"\u003eBelle's Journey\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.com\/products\/whoosh-lonnie-johnsons-super-soaking-stream-of-inventions\"\u003eWhoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Invention\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"cvr-border-gray\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-spread.jpg?4227446046426199655\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e\u003cscript src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-shape=\"round\" defer async=\"\" type=\"text\/javascript\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHillary Homzie, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHillary Homzie has written several books for tweens, including \u003ci\u003eThings Are Going to Get Ugly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hot List\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Queen of Likes\u003c\/i\u003e for Aladdin Books of Simon \u0026amp; Schuster. She lives in Napa, California, with her family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Ebbeler, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeffrey Ebbeler has illustrated more than forty picture books, including \u003ci\u003eMelvin the Mouth\u003c\/i\u003e. He has worked as an art director, done paper engineering for pop-up books, created large scale murals for schools and churches, and sculpted puppets. He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH. www.jeffillustration.com\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEllie May wants desperately to be flag leader in class this week, but can she figure out how to please her teacher? Ellie May hasn't been flag leader in months even though she waves her hands enthusiastically every morning to be picked. Her class is learning about U.S. presidents for Presidents' Day, and Ellie May figures that if she can act like a president, maybe Ms. Silva will pick her. Chopping down a class plant so that she can tell the truth about it, as George Washington supposedly did, doesn't work. (Ava, know-it-all-turned-friend, and Ms. Silva both explain that the cherry-tree story is a myth.) Taking apart the class pencil sharpener because Abraham Lincoln liked taking gadgets apart completely backfires. When she owns up to her actions though, she is surprised by the results. The classroom is ethnically diverse—Ellie May, Ava, and Mo appear black (notably, Ava has a dark skin tone); the teacher presents as white. While the text clarifies that presidents were just people, the uncritical glorification of historical presidents by black kids (who would have been treated poorly by them) seems a little off-key. For more of her antics, see Ellie May on April Fool's Day. An appended note on the Pledge of Allegiance omits mention of \"under God\"; it's followed by a note on Presidents' Day. Like a Clementine of color, Ellie May is a protagonist readers can feel for even if they don't share her preoccupations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond-grader Ellie May is a live wire with a good heart and less good impulse control. In Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, she’s desperate for her chance to be class flag leader, but when she tries to impress her teacher with her devotion to George Washington–style honesty, she ends up insulting her classmates instead. In Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, our heroine is jealous of Mo, the class funny guy, and wants to pull off a great prank herself; unfortunately, she takes things too far. Ellie May is a sympathetic heroine in her yearning for recognition (“Mo’s funny. Ava is smart. You’re artsy. I just want to be something too”), and the episodic chapters make for approachable and humorous early reading. Spirited, cartoonish black and white art has an appropriately chaotic edge in its interpretation of Ellie May’s diverse classroom and mixed-race family. Since the relevant holiday gets decent coverage in each book, this offers the possibility for solid curricular use as well as an amiable new series friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cvr.jpg?4227446046426199655\" style=\"display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-hires.zip?4227446046426199655\" class=\"product-btn\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan\u003e978-1-58089-819-5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan\u003e978-1-58089-928-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eE-book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-63289-675-9 EPUB\u003cbr\u003e ISBN: 978-1-63289-676-6 PDF\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 6-9\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 112\u003cbr\u003e5 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2 \u003c\/sub\u003ex 7\u003csup\u003e3\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e4\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCorrelated to Common Core State Standards:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEnglish Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 1. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10\u003cbr\u003eEnglish Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 2. Standards \u003cspan\u003e1-4, 6-8, 10\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]","published_at":"2017-05-30T14:38:37-04:00","created_at":"2018-05-18T09:59:33-04:00","vendor":"Charlesbridge","type":"Children's Book","tags":["Browse by Age_Ages 6-10","Browse by Fiction\/Nonfiction_Nonfiction","Browse by Format_Early Reader","Browse by Language_English","Browse by Subject_History \u0026 Biography","Browse by Subject_Humor","Browse by Subject_School Days","girl"],"price":599,"price_min":599,"price_max":750,"available":true,"price_varies":true,"compare_at_price":1499,"compare_at_price_min":1499,"compare_at_price_max":1499,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":12329969254479,"title":"Hardcover","option1":"Hardcover","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"98195","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Ellie May on Presidents' Day - Hardcover","public_title":"Hardcover","options":["Hardcover"],"price":750,"weight":567,"compare_at_price":1499,"inventory_quantity":200,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"9781580898195","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]},{"id":12329984491599,"title":"Paperback","option1":"Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"99284","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"Ellie May on Presidents' Day - Paperback","public_title":"Paperback","options":["Paperback"],"price":599,"weight":567,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":10,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"9781580899284","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cover.jpg?v=1586792698"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cover.jpg?v=1586792698","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":"Ellie May on Presidents' Day book cover","id":2473293807695,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.734,"height":817,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cover.jpg?v=1586792698"},"aspect_ratio":0.734,"height":817,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.charlesbridgeteen.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cover.jpg?v=1586792698","width":600}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/hillary-homzie\"\u003eHillary Homzie\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/pages\/jeffrey-ebbeler\"\u003e Jeffrey Ebbeler \u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"Just how far will Ellie May go to be chosen as class flag leader during the exciting week leading up to Presidents' Day?\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuirky and funny, second-grader Ellie May enjoys learning about US presidents. But she absolutely \u003ci\u003eloves\u003c\/i\u003e the idea of being class flag leader during the week before Presidents' Day. Tired of not being chosen to hold the flag, she makes it her mission to finally get picked. Along the way, Ellie May ends up karate chopping the class plant when she tries to determine whether George Washington actually chopped down that cherry tree. Next she takes apart the class pencil sharpener when she learns that Abraham Lincoln liked learning how gadgets work. Ellie May may not be perfect like Miss-Know-it-All Ava or calm like her best friend Lizzy, but she's good-hearted and eventually realizes that honesty and patience go a long way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.blogspot.com\/2018\/12\/charlesbridge-unplugged-18-hillary.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eListen\u003c\/a\u003e to author Hillary Homzie\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etalk\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eabout the Ellie May series\u003cem\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these:\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/products\/ellie-may-on-april-fools-day\"\u003e Ellie May on April Fool's Day\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.com\/products\/belles-journey-an-osprey-takes-flight\"\u003eBelle's Journey\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/charlesbridge.com\/products\/whoosh-lonnie-johnsons-super-soaking-stream-of-inventions\"\u003eWhoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Invention\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg class=\"cvr-border-gray\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-spread.jpg?4227446046426199655\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e\u003cscript src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-shape=\"round\" defer async=\"\" type=\"text\/javascript\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHillary Homzie, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHillary Homzie has written several books for tweens, including \u003ci\u003eThings Are Going to Get Ugly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hot List\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Queen of Likes\u003c\/i\u003e for Aladdin Books of Simon \u0026amp; Schuster. She lives in Napa, California, with her family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Ebbeler, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeffrey Ebbeler has illustrated more than forty picture books, including \u003ci\u003eMelvin the Mouth\u003c\/i\u003e. He has worked as an art director, done paper engineering for pop-up books, created large scale murals for schools and churches, and sculpted puppets. He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH. www.jeffillustration.com\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEllie May wants desperately to be flag leader in class this week, but can she figure out how to please her teacher? Ellie May hasn't been flag leader in months even though she waves her hands enthusiastically every morning to be picked. Her class is learning about U.S. presidents for Presidents' Day, and Ellie May figures that if she can act like a president, maybe Ms. Silva will pick her. Chopping down a class plant so that she can tell the truth about it, as George Washington supposedly did, doesn't work. (Ava, know-it-all-turned-friend, and Ms. Silva both explain that the cherry-tree story is a myth.) Taking apart the class pencil sharpener because Abraham Lincoln liked taking gadgets apart completely backfires. When she owns up to her actions though, she is surprised by the results. The classroom is ethnically diverse—Ellie May, Ava, and Mo appear black (notably, Ava has a dark skin tone); the teacher presents as white. While the text clarifies that presidents were just people, the uncritical glorification of historical presidents by black kids (who would have been treated poorly by them) seems a little off-key. For more of her antics, see Ellie May on April Fool's Day. An appended note on the Pledge of Allegiance omits mention of \"under God\"; it's followed by a note on Presidents' Day. Like a Clementine of color, Ellie May is a protagonist readers can feel for even if they don't share her preoccupations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond-grader Ellie May is a live wire with a good heart and less good impulse control. In Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, she’s desperate for her chance to be class flag leader, but when she tries to impress her teacher with her devotion to George Washington–style honesty, she ends up insulting her classmates instead. In Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, our heroine is jealous of Mo, the class funny guy, and wants to pull off a great prank herself; unfortunately, she takes things too far. Ellie May is a sympathetic heroine in her yearning for recognition (“Mo’s funny. Ava is smart. You’re artsy. I just want to be something too”), and the episodic chapters make for approachable and humorous early reading. Spirited, cartoonish black and white art has an appropriately chaotic edge in its interpretation of Ellie May’s diverse classroom and mixed-race family. Since the relevant holiday gets decent coverage in each book, this offers the possibility for solid curricular use as well as an amiable new series friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-cvr.jpg?4227446046426199655\" style=\"display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/ellie-may-on-presidents-day-hires.zip?4227446046426199655\" class=\"product-btn\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan\u003e978-1-58089-819-5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan\u003e978-1-58089-928-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eE-book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-63289-675-9 EPUB\u003cbr\u003e ISBN: 978-1-63289-676-6 PDF\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 6-9\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 112\u003cbr\u003e5 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2 \u003c\/sub\u003ex 7\u003csup\u003e3\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e4\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCorrelated to Common Core State Standards:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEnglish Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 1. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10\u003cbr\u003eEnglish Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 2. Standards \u003cspan\u003e1-4, 6-8, 10\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]"}

Ellie May on Presidents' Day

By: Hillary Homzie / Illustrated by: Jeffrey Ebbeler

"Just how far will Ellie May go to be chosen as class flag leader during the exciting week leading up to Presidents' Day?"

Quirky and funny, second-grader Ellie May enjoys learning about US presidents. But she absolutely loves the idea of being class flag leader during the week before Presidents' Day. Tired of not being chosen to hold the flag, she makes it her mission to finally get picked. Along the way, Ellie May ends up karate chopping the class plant when she tries to determine whether George Washington actually chopped down that cherry tree. Next she takes apart the class pencil sharpener when she learns that Abraham Lincoln liked learning how gadgets work. Ellie May may not be perfect like Miss-Know-it-All Ava or calm like her best friend Lizzy, but she's good-hearted and eventually realizes that honesty and patience go a long way.

Listen to author Hillary Homzie talk about the Ellie May series.

$ 14.99
Maximum quantity available reached.

Hillary Homzie, author

Hillary Homzie has written several books for tweens, including Things Are Going to Get Ugly, The Hot List, and Queen of Likes for Aladdin Books of Simon & Schuster. She lives in Napa, California, with her family.


Jeffrey Ebbeler, illustrator

Jeffrey Ebbeler has illustrated more than forty picture books, including Melvin the Mouth. He has worked as an art director, done paper engineering for pop-up books, created large scale murals for schools and churches, and sculpted puppets. He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH. www.jeffillustration.com

  • Coming soon!

Kirkus Reviews

Ellie May wants desperately to be flag leader in class this week, but can she figure out how to please her teacher? Ellie May hasn't been flag leader in months even though she waves her hands enthusiastically every morning to be picked. Her class is learning about U.S. presidents for Presidents' Day, and Ellie May figures that if she can act like a president, maybe Ms. Silva will pick her. Chopping down a class plant so that she can tell the truth about it, as George Washington supposedly did, doesn't work. (Ava, know-it-all-turned-friend, and Ms. Silva both explain that the cherry-tree story is a myth.) Taking apart the class pencil sharpener because Abraham Lincoln liked taking gadgets apart completely backfires. When she owns up to her actions though, she is surprised by the results. The classroom is ethnically diverse—Ellie May, Ava, and Mo appear black (notably, Ava has a dark skin tone); the teacher presents as white. While the text clarifies that presidents were just people, the uncritical glorification of historical presidents by black kids (who would have been treated poorly by them) seems a little off-key. For more of her antics, see Ellie May on April Fool's Day. An appended note on the Pledge of Allegiance omits mention of "under God"; it's followed by a note on Presidents' Day. Like a Clementine of color, Ellie May is a protagonist readers can feel for even if they don't share her preoccupations.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book

Second-grader Ellie May is a live wire with a good heart and less good impulse control. In Ellie May on Presidents’ Day, she’s desperate for her chance to be class flag leader, but when she tries to impress her teacher with her devotion to George Washington–style honesty, she ends up insulting her classmates instead. In Ellie May on April Fools’ Day, our heroine is jealous of Mo, the class funny guy, and wants to pull off a great prank herself; unfortunately, she takes things too far. Ellie May is a sympathetic heroine in her yearning for recognition (“Mo’s funny. Ava is smart. You’re artsy. I just want to be something too”), and the episodic chapters make for approachable and humorous early reading. Spirited, cartoonish black and white art has an appropriately chaotic edge in its interpretation of Ellie May’s diverse classroom and mixed-race family. Since the relevant holiday gets decent coverage in each book, this offers the possibility for solid curricular use as well as an amiable new series friend.

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-58089-819-5

Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-58089-928-4

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63289-675-9 EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-63289-676-6 PDF

Ages: 6-9
Page count: 112
5 1/x 73/4

Correlated to Common Core State Standards:
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 1. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10
English Language Arts-Literacy. Reading Literature. Grade 2. Standards 1-4, 6-8, 10