The Quiz Book for BFFs 2. Helaine Becker. Toronto, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2014. 95 pp., pbk., $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4431-2879-7. Subject Headings: Best friends-Juvenile literature. Children’s questions and answers. Grades 3-7 / Ages 8-12. Review by Tanya Boudreau. *** /4

excerpt:

Would You Rather…?

Which would you choose? Which would your BFF? Compare your answers to see how alike you are.

Would you rather…

1. Get stuck without shoes or without toilet paper?
2. Get a sunburn or frostbite?
3. Spend one day in a viper pit or one night in a haunted house?
4. Be sick with a horrible stomach ache or look after a friend with a horrible stomach ache?
5. Not be able to read or not be able to write?
6. Get trapped in a closet or accidentally locked out of the house?
7. Eat bacon-flavoured ice cream or super spicy “Suicide” chicken wings?
8. Live without friends or live without money?
9. Go hungry for a day or eat a fried mealworm?
10. Have a week with tons of homework or a week with no homework but a big test on Friday?

There are 30 quizzes in Becker’s second quiz book for girls, the first being The Quiz Book for BFFs. By doing these fun exercises together, friends can find out how well they know one another. Answers transpire after using math, art, dance, conversation and yoga. Using simple addition and code, girls can find out if they are destined to remain friends. The “Drawn Together” test asks readers to complete illustrations. There are “Fill-in-the Blank” stories to finish, questions that need a “Meh” or “Eek” answer, and a brain chart to divide up. Not every test is about boys, clothes and make-up. Instead, the author includes information about personality, sports, goals, and successful woman in history. Although these tests are not to be taken seriously (if you have a ballerina bun, you keep everyone on your toes; if you wear a French braid in your hair, you have a twisted sense of humour), they do allow silly interactions among friends. With the exception of the dance and yoga chart, most of the black and white illustrations that appear on each page are decorative in nature. The girls, who are cartoonish in style, represent different ethnic groups. This book could be used with groups of friends at a sleepover or a birthday party, or by an individual who just wants to get to know herself better.

Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

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