Myra in the Middle by Seetha Dodd illustrated by Peter Cheong

Think about the expression cup half full or cup half empty. Myra feels as though her cup in empty. Her new baby brother has just arrived so now she is the middle kid.

"I've been the youngest member of the Menon family for seven years and nine months. So, for a minute I'm confused. Then I realise she means Zeeshan, of course. He's the youngest one now. Anya's the oldest child, but she's always been the oldest. It's only me who has to change."

You can see Myra on the cover playing soccer (football). Her parents are distracted with the new baby but they do give permission for Myra to try out for the team.

"Grace is a striker, so she will get to score the goals. April is a goalkeeper, so she must stop the other team from scoring. My heart goes THUMP THUMP THUMP. What about me? Where an I going to be?"

The coach, Mr Ellis, sends her to the middle.

"Nothing exciting happens in the middle of a soccer pitch. All I do is get the ball and pass it to Grace."

The third issue is school. Myra feels invisible and her teacher confirms this by always mixing her up with another classmate. I cheered when Myra finally found her voice and calmly wrote her name on the white board after solving a maths problem. AND the teacher was so gracious with her response too.

Myra makes a list - There are so many bad things about being in the middle - squashed in the back seat of the car with no window to look out of; ignored like piggy in the middle; invisible like the hole of a doughnut; and lost like in the middle of nowhere. I really enjoyed the way Myra set out her concerns in little tables and Venn diagrams. 

Luckily for Myra, her grandmother Muthashi lives with the family. She is so wise and she is a listener. I loved the way she used a simple cream filled biscuit to show Myra just how important the middle can be!

Soccer fans will enjoy chapters 18 and 19 which describe the match you may have anticipated from the cover. This book is easy to read with larger print, 167 illustrated pages and a fast paced honest story about fitting in and change and family. This book will be enjoyed by readers aged 7+. 

Thanks to UQP for sending me a review copy of Myra in the Middle. 

Publisher blurb: Seven-year-old Myra likes maths, football and things staying the same. She lives with her mum, dad, Muthashi (grandma) and big sister, Anya. Her world flips upside down when her family welcomes a new baby. Myra is now a middle child – and everyone knows middle kids always get forgotten. On top of that, Myra tries out for the school’s soccer team, only to be put in the midfield. She can’t show off her skills when nothing exciting ever happens there! What will it take for Myra to feel marvellous in the middle?

A heartfelt story for readers aged 5 to 8 about speaking up for yourself (and others!) and standing out – not by being the loudest, but by being yourself. Readings

Myra’s handwritten wordplay and puzzles; the generous use of white space; and appealing black-and-white line drawings by Peter Cheong all contribute to the text being inviting to a newly confident reader. ... This book will have broad appeal to children aged 6-8, particularly children from migrant families who will be excited to see themselves in the funny, thoughtful, chatty character of Myra. Storylinks

Large print and line spacing make Myra in the Middle a great book for young readers moving from junior novels up to longer chapter books. Myra loves maths and uses it to sort day to day problems, showing readers that Maths is present in everyday life, not just the classroom. What book Next

Seetha Dodd is an emerging children’s author who loves wordplay, humorous rhyme and lyrical prose. Her fiction has been published in The School Magazine and in print and audio anthologies by Spineless Wonders and Hunter Writers’ Centre. Drawing on her Malaysian–Indian heritage, and themes of family, identity and belonging, Seetha writes stories that empower children to challenge stereotypes and to celebrate uniqueness in all forms. She lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with her husband and three children. Myra in the Middle is her debut novel.