When Gina moves to a new neighborhood in Queens, she is dismayed to find that her apartment building is crawling with boys. There's not a single female playmate her age in sight. What will Gina do? Join right in, of course! She may be a girl, but she is also a good friend - to everyone. With Bernard Waber's cheerful artwork and special sensitivity to the world of children, Gina will strike a chord with fans of his beloved Ira Sleeps Over and Ira Says Goodbye.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Gina is understandably disappointed when she discovers that no other girls her age live in her new apartment building. "Yet, and more oddly still,/ there were boys, boys, boys galore,/ boys, boys, boys-Gina's age,/ on every floor." After a lengthy, breezily illustrated roll call of the young males in Gina's building, Waber (the Lyle the Crocodile books) shows how they all have a grand time hanging out together, while "Day after day, Gina played all alone./ No friends rang her bell, or called on the phone." One day, Gina mentions that she "could throw," and the boys give her a chance to prove it. She does that handily and goes on to show her prowess in batting, biking, climbing trees-and even standing up to bullies. "Gina made many friends that day./ Her whole life changed in every way./ Moving to the apartment was no longer a bummer./ Gina began having fun, fun, fun that summer." Waber offsets the randomness of his rhythms and his frequently forced rhymes with the domesticated daffiness of his action-packed watercolors, served up here in panels, whole pages and quick vignettes. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1?Gina has just moved into a new apartment building in Queens, NY. There are no girls her age, but boys galore, none of whom wants to be her friend. In lilting rhyme and funny, full-color cartoons, dozens of boys are named and personified: "Kyle, Lyle, Vic, and Stu. Tom, John, and Zbigniew." Families, gaggles, and gangs of boys ignore Gina who, day after day, draws and reads books about sports. "One day?/was it Nate or was it Joe?/Well, anyway, Gina told one of them/she could throw." Henceforth, she becomes friends with them all. In a quatrain for equity, the author states: "Although her life was full,/Gina clung to the dream/of someday seeing other girls/play on her team." Another winner from the redoubtable Waber.?Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NE
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
"This is Mr. Waber. Mr. Waber is the man who writes those stories about Lyle the Crocodile" is sometimes the way I am introduced to a child. We greet each other, the child and I, and I begin to imagine disappointment in the wide-eyed gaze. Perhaps there was an expectation the "real" Lyle would leap out from behind this not-unusual-looking author. It is tempting but I resist becoming Lyle and behaving in some ingratiating fashion to desperately compensate for the absent crocodile hero. I offer, instead, to show off some of my Lyle memorabilia, a collection acquired mostly through the generosity of good-humored friends and readers.
My own early efforts at drawing were mostly confined to the laborious copying of photographs of film stars and other celebrities. I received respectable grade in art classes during my school years but doubt I thought it seriously indicated a career direction. Perhaps art seemed too frivolous for one raised during the Depression. Besides, I grew up a rather earnest young man and chose instead to major in finance at the University of Pennsylvania. After just one year of schooling, World War II interrupted those rather high-minded plans. Perhaps it was moving about, meeting people of various backgrounds and experience -- I don't recall a precise moment--but somehow during those army days my interest shifted to drawing and painting.
Returning to civilian life, I discarded high finance for enrollment at the Philadelphia College of Art. It was a decision I never regretted. During the four years I attended school I found great joy in painting and drawing. Soon after graduating, and newly married,
Ethel and I moved to New York, a city we loved at once and still do. I celebrated that feeling with the eventual publication of The House on East 88th Street (1962). My first
New York employment was in the promotion department of Condé Nast Publications, and although I continued in the magazine field for many years, writing and illustrating children's books was my primary interest since 1961.
My involvement with children's books originated with some illustrations of children I carried in my art portfolio. Several art directors suggested that my drawings seemed suited for children's books. At the same time, I was also having read-aloud sessions with my own three children. I am afraid enthusiasm for "their" books began, in fact, to cause them occasional discomfort. "Daddy, why don't you look at the grownups' books" they chided. Before too long I was mailing out stories and ideas to publishers. Rejections followed but after a time a cheery encouragement arrived from Houghton Mifflin Company, and to my delight, a contract was offered for Lorenzo.
In one way or another, I seem to find myself thinking of children's books most of the time. I even enjoy the period in between books for it is then (I hope) that I am susceptible to all manner of adventurous thought. I've never been good at thinking at the typewriter. I seem to write best when in motion. Trains, subways, even elevators seem to shake ideas loose in my head. Although I write and illustrate, I believe if I had to choose between the two, I would choose writing. There's a freedom about writing that appeals to me. You can do it almost anywhere--and I have.
My own early efforts at drawing were mostly confined to the laborious copying of photographs of film stars and other celebrities. I received respectable grade in art classes during my school years but doubt I thought it seriously indicated a career direction. Perhaps art seemed too frivolous for one raised during the Depression. Besides, I grew up a rather earnest young man and chose instead to major in finance at the University of Pennsylvania. After just one year of schooling, World War II interrupted those rather high-minded plans. Perhaps it was moving about, meeting people of various backgrounds and experience -- I don't recall a precise moment--but somehow during those army days my interest shifted to drawing and painting.
Returning to civilian life, I discarded high finance for enrollment at the Philadelphia College of Art. It was a decision I never regretted. During the four years I attended school I found great joy in painting and drawing. Soon after graduating, and newly married,
Ethel and I moved to New York, a city we loved at once and still do. I celebrated that feeling with the eventual publication of The House on East 88th Street (1962). My first
New York employment was in the promotion department of Condé Nast Publications, and although I continued in the magazine field for many years, writing and illustrating children's books was my primary interest since 1961.
My involvement with children's books originated with some illustrations of children I carried in my art portfolio. Several art directors suggested that my drawings seemed suited for children's books. At the same time, I was also having read-aloud sessions with my own three children. I am afraid enthusiasm for "their" books began, in fact, to cause them occasional discomfort. "Daddy, why don't you look at the grownups' books" they chided. Before too long I was mailing out stories and ideas to publishers. Rejections followed but after a time a cheery encouragement arrived from Houghton Mifflin Company, and to my delight, a contract was offered for Lorenzo.
In one way or another, I seem to find myself thinking of children's books most of the time. I even enjoy the period in between books for it is then (I hope) that I am susceptible to all manner of adventurous thought. I've never been good at thinking at the typewriter. I seem to write best when in motion. Trains, subways, even elevators seem to shake ideas loose in my head. Although I write and illustrate, I believe if I had to choose between the two, I would choose writing. There's a freedom about writing that appeals to me. You can do it almost anywhere--and I have.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Leadership,
By
This review is from: Gina (Paperback)
Gina moves to a new apartment complex. The kids her age were all boys so she had a hard time making friends. One day one of the boys asked her to throw a ball. They were impressed, soon she had friends. She was full of ideas and led the boys in all sorts of fun. But she also stands up for other kids when they were being bullied. This is a great book to talk to your children about being a leader.
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