Module 7 | Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Best Friends and Drama Queens

PLOT SUMMARY

Allie and her best friends Caroline, Sophie, and Erica, are excited to meet Cheyenne, the new girl in their fourth grade class, especially since she’s from Canada (!) But despite Allie’s initial infatuation with Cheyenne’s “talent” T-shirt and high-heeled boots, she begins to resent Cheyenne’s emphasis on boys, as well as her cruel taunts of “Big Baby Finkle!” Allie and her friends must decide if they want to go along with Cheyenne’s ideas of “going together” or stay regular fourth graders who love to play Queens.

MY IMPRESSIONS

Author Meg Cabot nails the perspective of a 10-year-old girl, especially in Allie’s observations of Cheyenne’s clothing and facial expressions; her adoration of her pretty teacher; and the awe she and her friends feel at a new student arriving all the way from Canada. The book makes it easy to become invested in the girls’ problems, especially as they are increasingly ostracized by the rest of their class. The conclusion of Rules for Girls sends just the right message to this age group: Don’t grow up too fast.

REVIEWS

"Using Allie’s fresh voice and believable fourth-grade perspective, Cabot gets across her “let children be children” message in a way that will make sense to other kids. The third Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls book sympathetically portrays the broad emotional range of fourth-graders."

Carolyn Phelan, Booklist, Nov. 15, 2008, Vol. 105, No. 6

" ... the author addresses preteen agony by rendering boys and girls alike in a three-dimensional light, even Allie's pesky younger brothers and her quirky young Uncle Jay, who suffers from a broken heart."

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2009, Vol. 77, No. 3

"While this story could easily be used to help children in specific social situations, it is fun and engaging enough for them to pick up on their own and includes universal themes that will touch many."
Jennifer Lehmann, Children's Literature, 2009

USES IN THE LIBRARY

A “What are YOUR Rules?” contest would be a great way to get young girls excited about the book, as they could post their most important rules from their own lives on a bulletin board at the library or through the library's web site. The series would also be a good book club selection for 8- to 10-year-olds, as kids could discuss various entries in the Allie Finkle collection.

CITATION

Cabot, M. (2009). Allie Finkle's rules for girls: Best friends and drama queens. New York: Scholastic Press.