Ava Lin, One of a Kind
Age 5+
General Fiction Personal & Social Issues
Ava Lin’s quest to earn the most kindness tickets in her first-grade class—and claim a coveted reward—leads to unanticipated results in this second chapter book in Vicky Fang’s funny and heartfelt series.
Ava Lin is six and a half years old, and this year she’s in first grade. She’s really good at making things and eating snacks and making lists. But what she really wants to be good at is earning enough tickets to fill her kindness bucket. In Ava’s class, if you do something kind for someone, that person puts a ticket in your bucket, and whoever has the most tickets by the end of the week gets to choose a prize. Ava really wants to choose the narwhal eraser—she NEEDS that eraser—so she has to be sure she’s the best bucket filler of the week, no matter what. But if you’re doing nice things just so you can pile up tickets, is that the same as being kind to others? Especially if you manage to hurt your best friend’s feelings along the way? With graphic panels and charming black-and-white illustrations, Vicky Fang brings back a lovable, sometimes bumbling heroine who wins the prize for heart and humor.
Creators
Vicky Fang is the author-illustrator of the Friendbots books, AlphaBot, and Ava Lin, Best Friend! She is also the author of the Layla and the Bots chapter book series, the I Can Code board book series, and the picture book Invent-a-Pet. A former product designer, she now writes and illustrates children’s books full-time. Vicky Fang lives in California.
Reviews
Ava is an endearing character, filled with heart and silly energy. When she gets excited or overwhelmed, she “meeps” and uses her alien language. With sweet illustrations throughout, Ava’s hilarious lists and her excitability are sure to win over emerging readers. A great choice for fans of Dawn Quigley’s JoJo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend (2021) and Abby Hanlon’s Dory Fantasmagory (2014), readers will look forward to more of Ava’s adventures and learning opportunities.
Booklist
The wonderful graphics (simple and funny black-and-white drawings that look as though they’re done by an advanced first grader) add to the series’s charm; beginning chapter book readers will appreciate Ava’s endless, comical list making and the story’s snappy talk bubbles. Fang deftly conveys Ava’s AAPI identity through illustrations and food references.
Youth Services Book Review
With graphic panels and charming illustrations, this funny and heartfelt chapter book by Vicky Fang delivers a sweet lesson on what it really means to be kind.
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