I was looking at an online review site that I can easily use, and I saw this brightly done cartoon cover. It was as if Lizzy McGuire and Diary of a Wimpy Kid had a book. It was Maple’s Theory of Fun. At first, I thought it was going to be about a girl trying to show us how to have fun. A “how to” so to speak, but then all crap breaks loose. Well, it is about how to do that, but the girl in question, Maple, has a bit more going on and her understanding of fun is not what others would consider fun. So, first she has to learn what fun is, then how to be fun.
Maple is very focused with science, space (she wants to work for NASA like her mom) and outside the box thinking is not always present for her, therefore, this is not going to be an easy task. Toss in old and new friends, a stinky (literally) older sister and a mom who is maybe a bit unaware of Maples specific feelings and needs (but is a loving woman who just wants the best for her daughters) and you have the ingredients for an illustrated story for about ages 8 to 12.
Kate McMillan and Ruthie Prillaman created a very modern take of children dealing with modern issues, yet staying with the classics of friendship and family. I am wondering if Maple might be on the autism scale as her worries/anxiety seems to have specific characteristics to this group of people (I know, if you meet one autistic person, you have only met one autistic person as everyone is different; yet I have experienced similar interactions with autistic people that Maple expressed). The art work is a slightly more fleshed out Diary of a Wimpy Kid with the cartoon elements, and black and white illustrations.
When I started Maple’s story I did not think I was going to like it. Turns out that while there were bumps for me as an adult reader, it would be a good book for most kids and it has the potential for a series with each main character having their own story.