One of the main things I like about Frankie and Friends: The Big Protest by Christine Platt is that things are presented in a kid friendly way. By using the journalistic approach (which is described) we are able to see how such things as “big news” is carried out. And this accessible language (with a glossary of the highlighted words) allows us as kids (aged six/seven to read to, eight/nine to read solo) and adults to have a neat read and learn about not only journalism, but life lessons.
The other thing I like about this book is how it makes the adult reader think. It not only helps us have language and ways to talk about the situation, it makes us think about the topic. Such as, I was wondering how current the topic is. Platt gives us Frankie, a young girl trying to make sense of the world. On cookie baking night, her family is watching the news instead of being in the kitchen. The reporter is reporting on recent protests in their area and other places. And through the parents dealing with the issues, we see how things work and how we all can help, too, even if we are too young for some things. As I sat there reading those first few chapters I was thinking, “Do we still have protests to be reported on?” It made me realize how our real life situation is.
But that is just the adult part of things. The kid part is the process and learning, but it is all done in a fun way. We have a little history lesson (Dr, Martin Luther King) but also how protests are current events and not just historical ones. And this is done with Alea Marley’s illustrations that are bright, colorful and respectful. The news story could be “intense” but it is at a level that most ages can handle it. There is not a lot of action exactly (we do not see the protests, just the image on the screen or when Frankie thinks about it), but the art gives us things to react to. Also there is good representation. Frankie’s family is of color and her mother is the journalist who travels and deals with the “breaking important news,” with dad staying at home.
Read Frankie and Friends: Breaking News first, as this is book two. And was so looking forward to Frankie and Friends: The Lost Tooth (book three) due mid-March 2025 that I looked to see if there was an online reader’s copy, and there was! So I finished that off in a lunch break. The story is a bit more straightforward, as we are dealing with a loose tooth and the tooth fairy, but there are some fun pure Frankie moments as well. This time around Frankie will be away at a journalism conference with her mother. Which is big deal. But so is the fact that she will lose her first tooth pretty soon and she is sure it will happen while she is away. Can the tooth fairy find her then?
With the help of her toy friends, this imaginative young girl figures out how to take care of any problem that comes her way. And she will have fun, and teach us how to be journalists, plus have life lessons, along the way. Frankie is a fun gal we probably should all have in our lives, but since we can only read about her I do recommend doing so! 
