Being Baxters

Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell's Being Baxters is a cosy winter story for 8 year olds about five brothers and sisters who are desperate to win a character award at school.

What happens

It's January in Bloomington and not one Baxter child has won one. Ashley thinks this is a tragedy. So she calls a meeting at their special rock and makes herself coach.

Her training plan comes from a very old etiquette book and Little House on the Prairie. Stand up tall. Bow from the waist. Greet your teacher with "Mighty fine day, ain't it?" You can imagine how that goes down (Kari's teacher feels her forehead to see if she's ill).

Meanwhile Ashley's favourite teacher, Mr Garrett, is off for a month because his baby is due. His replacement is Ms Stritch from London. She's very tall, never smiles, and is not at all amused when Ashley stands up and says "G'day, mate!" to her. Ashley's friend Elliot has a theory that she's a robot.

Everyone else has something going on too. Brooke is being left out at lunch by a friend. Erin needs glasses and is sure she'll be teased. Kari gets a dance solo and lets it go to her head. Luke is worried a huge blizzard will wreck his class outing to watch the Harlem Globetrotters.

Ashley is the star, though. She hears Farmer's Almanac as Farmer's Almond Hat. She stands up in the middle of assembly to ask the principal whether there are spies checking who behaves. Who does that? Ashley Baxter, that's who!

Underneath the silliness it's a thoughtful book about what good character really looks like. Their mum keeps telling them to stop performing and just keep being themselves. The Baxters are a Christian family, so there's grace before breakfast and prayer in Kari's journal. It's woven in gently, but it's there.

This one comes later in the Baxter children's story, when the family has been in Bloomington since the summer. Readers who know the earlier books will spot old friends, but you don't need them to follow along.

What to read next

If your reader wants more of Ashley's class with Mr Garrett, Elliot and Natalie, try Adventure Awaits. It opens on a Monday morning after a meteor shower, with Ashley doing her very best to stay awake at her desk.