Smile 

1. Smile By: Raina Telgemeier 2010 Fiction Jordan Jaramillo

2. Setting • This story takes place in many different places. It takes place at her house, her front yard, girl scouts, and at school.

3. Characters • Raina is just a young sixth grader trying to fit in with the “cool kids”. She is sensitive, shy, and cares about what everyone else thinks. She has red hair, brown eyes, and has braces.

4. Plot • Raina is racing her friends to her front door after a day of girl scouts, but right before they get to her front door she trips and falls and loses her two front teeth! Now she has to get braces, which she doesn’t want.

5. Resolution • She ends up finding new friends that care about her and meets new cute boys that she likes. Eventually she gets her braces off after having them on for about 2 years.

6. Opinion • I thought the book was great! Every page I flipped made me more and more excited.

7. About The Author Raina Telgemeier grew up in San Francisco. Her graphic novel, Smile, won the Eisner award for best publication for a teen audience. Raina now lives in Queens, New York, with her cartoon artist husband, Dave. She received her BFA in 2002, and has worked as a freelance artist ever since. Her graphic novel, Smile, is a true story about what happened to her when she was a kid.

8. 5 Questions • How does she lose her two front teeth? • Where was she at before she lost her two front teeth? • How many years does she have her braces on? • What does she have to wear at night to help her teeth? • What is the boys name she has a crush on?

9. Summary • Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after girl scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long journey with on and off again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attatched.