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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION MOS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION MOS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION MOS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION MOS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Daphne has never (ever) loved her name, but it is her name and she can't do much to change it. So when the first day of fourth grade comes, not only does Daphne get her pre-braces retainer but also the new teacher can't seem to remember her name. It's not Duffy or Daffy or Doffy. It's Daphne. Well anyway what's in a name? A lot, just ask Daphne.
Author Notes
Marissa Moss began as an illustrator of children's books. She is the author and illustrator of the Amelia series. She has written and illustrated more than 20 children's books including Amelia's Notebook, which was named a 1997 American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists book. Her other books include Regina's Big Mistake and Knick Knack Paddywack.
My Notebook (with Help from Amelia) also won the 2000 Parent Council Outstanding Award Informational and Oh Boy, Amelia! won the 2001 Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award and the 2002 Children's Choice Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
First there was Amelia, then Max, and now Daphne, the worry-prone narrator of Moss's third diary-style series, Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters. Readers will quickly realize that Daphne isn't exactly one to look on the bright side: though she has an evident sense of humor, her affinity for melodrama emerges as she chronicles her first day of fourth grade in hand-lettered text and doodles on pink lined paper. Disaster strikes early when her teacher mispronounces her name while taking attendance. " 'Daffy?' DAFFY!! As in ditzy, dumb, dingbat-all kinds of 'D' words that DON'T describe me," Daphne writes indignantly. That evening, her father suggests that she come up with a nickname for her teacher, Mrs. Underwood. Using the obvious twist on that name causes Daphne some trouble the following day, but her teacher defuses the situation, and Daphne comes to realize that mistakes happen. Moss understands the way that minor slights can feel like apocalyptic, life-altering traumas to children (and, yes, adults), and Daphne's frustrations, candor, and slightly mean brand of humor feel entirely genuine. Also available: The Vampire Dare! Ages 7-10. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Amelia's best friend from California, Nadia, is coming to visit, but her best friend from home, Carly, gives Nadia a frosty reception when she arrives. Will Amelia lose both friends? Amelia's notebook-style, hand-lettered text with vignette-esque cartoons and doodles, including recipes, kitchen tips, and friendship hints, is ideally suited for this pitch-perfect tale of middle school friendship woes. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
On her first day of fourth grade, Daphne starts a diary that quickly becomes one of doodles and disasters and sets up a new series by the creator of Amelia.In this series opener, her teacher, Ms. Underwood, mispronounces her name when calling the roll, so that classmatesexcept best friend Kayleeare calling her Daffy. The very slim plot involves Daphne's discovery that the name game has happened to others. Her solution is to nickname her teacher, but she realizes that she's not the first to call her teacher Mrs. Underwear.The first-person narrative includes familiar middle-grade scenesa trip to the orthodontist and the boredom of watching her younger brothers' soccer practicesketches of people and things, even rebuses. In a companion story that publishes simultaneously, The Vampire Dare, her vampire costume turns out to be a disaster, prompting classmates to claim she has cooties. Again Daphne turns the tide by transferring the onus to a cootie-catching old doll. This light reading is made even lighter by the fact that the last quarter of each volume is taken up with extra material: lists and sketches of name disasters in the first and costume disasters in the second.Hand-lettered on lined paper like Moss' hugely popular Amelia's Notebook (1995) and its sequels, this series is likely to appeal to the same middle-grade audience but feels a touch too familiar. (Graphic fiction. 8-11)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
New York Review of Books Review
In this series, a feisty girl records her impressions of school and home. DAPHNE'S DIARY OF DAILY DISASTERS The Name Game! Written and illustrated by Marissa Moss. 80 pp. A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster. $9.99. (Middle grade; ages 7 to 10) DAPHNE'S DIARY OF DAILY DISASTERS The Vampire Dare! Written and illustrated by Marissa Moss. 80 pp. A Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster. $9.99. (Middle grade; ages 7 to 10) AT a certain point in our lives something terrific happens - the stops and starts of reading begin to flow and we are able to turn our complete attention to the text itself. For many children at this stage, the familiar rules: they take particular pleasure in reading about someone in a school with routines and structures not unlike their own and enjoy meeting, in a series, their beloved characters again and again. Unconventionally designed books appeal as well - say an ersatz journal filled with just the sorts of notes and sketches the young reader could imagine making herself. Back in 1995, Marissa Moss successfully used all three of these elements in "Amelia's Notebook." Now, 23 books later, as her title character makes her way through middle school, she has a series for younger readers, "Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters." "The Name Game!" introduces Daphne Davis along with her requisite annoying younger siblings, loyal best friend and caring-but-not-perfect parents. Daphne's takes on the highs and lows of her first day of fourth grade are presented diary-style along with annotated doodles on everything from soccer moms to how she is able to tell her twin brothers apart (snot is involved). The low happens almost immediately: when calling the roll her new teacher flubs her name, calling her Daffy. She apologizes, but the damage has been done; Daphne is teased for the rest of the day. Hearing of this, her father, who has name woes of his own, suggests she turn things around with a funny name for the teacher as it "will harm no kids and hurt nobody's feelings." A delighted Daphne takes his advice and the predictably unfortunate results cause her to end up with a more empathetic view of naming for adults and children alike. In the second installment, "The Vampire Dare!" Daphne struggles to come up with the perfect costume for a school dress-up day. As can be deduced from the title, blood-sucking fiends are involved. A last-minute makeup decision results in another miserable day, with Daphne convinced that she will be stuck forever at the bottom of the wittily illustrated popularity pyramid. In this case it is her kindergarten brothers who come up with an ingenious and rather creepy solution that completely distracts everyone from Daphne and her disaster of the day before. This young diarist is highly opinionated and readers will enjoy her impressions of everything from bad teachers to eccentric flavors of ice cream. And while Daphne certainly learns some lessons, neither book ends tidily. Sympathizing with her teacher doesn't stop Daphne from continuing to use the mean nickname, just "not to her face." As for the twins' successful plan to put their sister back in play, it results in a haunted bathroom. It is this mix of familiarity, quirkiness and real life that gives these books a particular charm both for those just gaining comfort with reading and those much farther along the path. Monica Edinger is a fourth-grade teacher at the Dalton School in New York City and blogs at Educating Alice.
