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This is an example of realistic fiction, as it is about people who do ordinary things. This realistic fiction book does have a glossary, because the main character, Nancy, uses words that the reader probably does not know. As the reader probably doesn't know the meaning of the word, they most likely will not know how to pronounce the word, which is a drawback to the book. Students in the first and second will enjoy Nancy's adventures. Nancy is kind, social, and inquisitive.
Media: pencil and watercolor

Great book for a beginning reader, learning about adjectives and descriptive language, and also about friendship

When I opened to the first page of this book, I knew I would enjoy reading it based on the pictures. Each page has a color illustration to go along with the words to help a reader better understand what’s being said. For example, Nancy, the main character who tells the story, tries to share a donut hole with Robert, her new friend, and in the picture you see her holding a donut hole. The illustration shows readers what exactly a donut hole looks like in case they are unfamiliar with it. The language used throughout the story was informative. Tough words were introduced such as; tardy, gorgeous, and perplexed. Beginners might stumble upon these words, therefor the author provided definitions. Also, the story taught readers a few French words; ami, which means friend and bonjour, meaning hello. The writing was engaging because it contained humor to keep the reader’s attention but taught the reader new information at the same time. For example, Robert informs the reader that in Texas there is an Eiffel Tower that has a cowboy on top; it’s much different than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Since the characters were believable and the story could have happened, this is a contemporary realistic fiction book. Nancy made the mistake of thinking her new friend Robert was from Paris, France when he was actually from Paris, Texas. This is a simple mistake because most people think of France when they hear the word Paris. After reading this book, it showed me not to make immediate assumptions. Jane O’Connor did a good job of relating her book to children because throughout their years of going to school, they will meet someone new to the classroom. Children will have to learn not to assume things about other students but to ask them directly. This will avoid confusion and hurting people’s feelings. ( )

Fancy Nancy is a fun series for beginning readers. In this particular book Fancy Nancy has a new friend in class that says he's from Paris. Fancy Nancy automatically tunes out and assumes he's from Paris France. Nancy tells many people she has a new friend from paris France and on the last day of school finds out her friend is actually from Paris, Texas.