Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story {Schoolhouse Review Crew}

In case I haven't mentioned before, we are a book-loving family. Lately, Botanist Boy has been a voracious reader! Sometimes it's a challenge to find acceptable books for him to read. Little Bit still isn't reading fluently, so I still read aloud to him--a lot!

We received recently, Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story, from Barbour Publishing, to read and review.

About Barbour Publishing:
Barbour Publishing began in 1981 as "Bargain Books," buying and reselling other publishers' excess stock. Then in 1984 the company began publishing it's own titles, starting with The Pilgrim's Progress. They also began publishing other Christian classics, such as My Utmost for His Highest and Barbour's first original title, The Bible Promise Book. Today, Barbour's frontlist releases number more than 150 titles per year, and they have shipped over one hundred million books, total.

About Diary of a Real Payne: True Story
This is a 192 page softbound book; juvenile fiction, most suitable for ages 8-12.

Emma Jean Payne, or EJ as she prefers to go by, is a precocious 10-year-old fourth grader, living in the tiny (boring) town of Spooner, Wisconsin, who daydreams about the various things she'd like to be when she grows up. She is eager to leave the tiny town for the big, wide world "out there."

The book is laid out in a delightful format, with each chapter beginning with a few pages from EJ's diary, and moves on in to the experiences eluded to in the journal entries. The illustrations are simple, yet endearing.

EJ's father is a pastor, and her mother is a teacher at the school where EJ attends. She also has a little (sometimes annoying) brother, who's in Kindergarten. The book is full of humor, as well as life lessons.

I had Botanist Boy read it, and I am still working on reading it aloud to Little Bit. Botanist Boy even took it along to read in the car on our way to Gatlinburg a couple weeks ago.
His Assessment:

EJ daydreams about everything, from being a race car driver, to having her own barber shop, to presidential helicopter pilot. While she is daydreaming, she ends up having mishaps, which get her into trouble sometimes. She enjoys reading books, too, like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I like it, even if it is a little "girly," because it is Christian. (Note: Botanist Boy is 13, almost 14, so I think it's an extra endorsement that he enjoyed it.)

You'll want to read the rest of the Crew reviews, too, to see what they thought. Also, be watching for Book 2--Church Camp Chaos to come out in March, 2014.

Cost: $5.99; currently on sale for $4.49.
Contact Information for Author:
About Annie Tipton
EJ Payne-Facebook
Contact Information for Barbour Publishing:
Website
Email
Address:
P.O. Box 719
1810 Barbour Drive
Uhrichsville, OH 44683
Phone:
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