Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally)

Bobby and Holly have been secret best friends since they were little kids. It's a secret because at their elementary school, boys and girls do not hang out together. But things start to change when they enter the fourth grade. Holly starts trying out some girly things and Bobby feels a bit left

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behind. And then Bobby accidentally starts a battle of the sexes.

Move over, Andrew Clements. This story of boys and girls and friendships and school is pitch perfect. The supporting characters are diverse and well-developed. I felt like I could see the story unfolding before my eyes. I'd definitely hand this to fans of Andrew Clements and others in that vein.

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When Bobby inadvertently gets into a fight with his best friend Holly, their disagreement develops into a boys versus girls war involving their whole fourth-grade class.

Bobby and Holly are friends and have been for some time, they just aren't friends in front of other kids. Because everyone knows that boys and girls cannot be friends, Bobby and Holly have tried to keep their private friendship separate from their school freinds, but things get complicated (and

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confusing for Bobby) when Holly aligns herself with queen bee Jillian and begins to actively hate Bobby. Or so she'd have everyone believe.

For Bobby's part, he does what you'd expect a fourth grader to do, which is to bumble his way through misadventures that threaten both his friendship with Holly and his standing as a boy in the gender roles that the kids feed into. The centerpiece of the story is election for student council representative that pits boys against girls, specifically Bobby against Holly. Amid the boy/girl tension Bobby also has his former football star turned stay-at-home dad embarrassing him, he gets himself stuck to a tree on a field trip to a botanical garden, and then there's that run-in with static cling involving underwear stuck to his shirt. Also, Bobby longs for a dog, but he's allergic to fur, so he tries to teach his pet goldfish to do tricks to compensate.

Good stuff for the younger middle grade set, and a good starting point for discussions about boy/girl friendships. It does end with a note of hope that boys and girls can be friends but it won't be an easy road ahead.

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I thought this was the cutest book. When I told my students about it they were telling me similar stories that had happened to them in elementary school. Bobby and Holly grew up best friends. When they reached fourth grade Bobby realized that Holly had started hanging out with someone new. Now it

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was no longer cool for the girls to be seen talking to the boys and the boys talking to the girls. Bobby ends up with a fish named Rover, and comes home each afternoon and tells his problems to the fish. Throughout the book you read one embarrassing thing after another about Bobby and you find out how true friendship comes through to make things work out. I love having students read a book and discuss it with me and I know this will be one of those books.

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This book would be great for both boys and girls. It caught my attention as a girl but would also be fit for a boy because of the main character, Bobby. I would recommend this book to teachers to give to students as a way to bond the two sexes instead of everything being so split. It is also a

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great book to help students feel comfortable in their own skin, like many of the characters in the book.

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Lots of fun characters who will be very real to kids . Good chapter book for younger readers.

4.5/5 Very funny mixed with good drama. Great conclusion!

What could possibly go wrong as Bobby enters the 4th grade? Just about everything. He wants a dog but gets a fish. His best friend Holly is becoming all girly thanks to Jillian Zarr. His ex-football hero dad is a PTA lady. He gets stuck on the stinky Koloff tree during a field trip. His campaign

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for student council rep goes disastrously wrong. But there are some good things, too. Bobby teaches his pet fish Rover to do tricks. And most of all, even if Holly is getting girly, she turns out to still be a good friend. Light-hearted, humorous reading just right for elementary readers, especially boys.

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It's obvious that Yee wants readers to come away from this thinking that maybe boys and girls can be friends, that it's normal for kids to explore their identity by trying on roles of being more (or less) girly or macho... but I don't think she necessarily will succeed with the kids who need her

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lesson most. ?�There's a lot of pages and drama devoted to the antics of the more apish boys and the more prissy girls. ?áBut then, having the ex-football player be a stay-at-home dad, and having Bobby learn how to be friends with whomever he chooses, no matter what other kids say, is pretty didactic. ?áI bet 4th-grade teachers who see boy vs. girl junk in their classroom will be glad to have this in their repertoire, as they can read a chapter after lunch and keep all their students engaged.

So. ?áNot just humor, but some poignant bits, too. ?áAlso most of the kids are mixed-race and comfortable with it. ?áAlso there are some interesting science bits. ?áAlso Mrs. Ellis-Chan has a pretty interesting job. ?áAnd Bobby's big sister is a football player. ?áIow, something for everyone. ?áNot amazing, but a fun & worthwhile read for the right & receptive audience.

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