It's Not Bragging If It's True: How to Be Awesome at Life, from a Winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee by Zaila Avant-Garde, Marti Dumas
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 0593568990
Pages: 144
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

Zaila Avant-Garde is tenacious and intelligent. She is a Scripps Spelling Bee winner, a two-time Guinness World Record holder, and has won Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year. She has a lot to teach young people about setting goals and working hard to achieve them. With humor and insight, Zaila offers readers 9 steps to “level up” to meet their goals and become their most authentic selves. These steps include having someone else’s back, knowing when to ask for help, and embracing your own weirdness. Zaila’s positive attitude and confidence shines throughout in this nonfiction self-help book for upper-elementary aged children. Readers will enjoy the short chapters and the photos of Zaila’s achievements through the years.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library