Amber Brown was one of a number of popular beginning chapter series published in the 90s. Others include Junie B.
Jones, Bailey School Kids, and Magic Tree House. Like the latter two, Amber Brown has now gotten a graphic novel treatment.
The original book was 80 pages long with illustrations by Tony Ross. Victoria Ying’s adaptation expands it to 100 pages but sticks closely to the story. Readers meet Amber Brown and her best friend Justin in this first book in the series. Amber Brown is quirky, messy, she lives with her mom (her dad moved away when they got divorced) and she has messy brown hair that she wears in pigtails. She loves her third grade class, gets along (mostly) with the other students and especially likes their engaging teacher, Mr. Cohen. She also very much likes her best friend Justin. They have been friends forever and together they complement each other perfectly. Except.
Justin is moving away. Not only that, they have had a big fight and Amber is going to have to find a new best friend right away, just to prove to Justin that she doesn’t need him after all. However, with some advice and patient listening from adults in her life, Amber determines to resolve things and mend their friendship before Justin really does leave.
Ying has created a variety of graphic novels for different ages and she does a good job here of keeping the spirit of the original while updating it for a new audience. Outdated references like cursive are removed and contemporary things like video calls are included. Ying adds her own flair while keeping the original character designs from Ross. Amber still has her white t-shirt and black pants, but leggings have been substituted for her stirrup pants and slip-ons for her tennis shoes. Mr. Cohen still has curly, dark hair, but is now explicitly Black. Ying includes Amber Brown’s memories and imagination, giving those panels a wash of colors to differentiate them from regular occurrences.
While the original books may still be popular in some libraries, I only kept the first title in my library since it’s rarely asked for, other than the occasional teacher assignment. There are plenty of contemporary, realistic fiction books that are similar and while the original is well-written and relatable, the details make the book outdated and Tony Ross’s illustrations are no longer well-known or popular. Victoria Ying’s adaptation gives new life to this classic series and teachers looking for read-alikes for Smile and other realistic graphic novels for 2nd and 3rd graders will be delighted to have a new series to hand out to young readers.
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon, Vol. 1
By Paula Danziger
Art by Victoria Ying
Putnam Pub Group, 2024
ISBN: 9780593615706
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)
