A novel to treasure with every middle-grade reader you know (NYTBR), this first Anna Wang story shows how a young Asian-American girl navigates her way around friendship and learn to accept that our diversity is what makes us unique. In Chinese, peng you means friend. But in any language, all Anna knows for certain is that friendship is complicated. When Anna needs company, she turns to her books. Whether traveling through A Wrinkle in Time , or peering over My Side of the Mountain , books provide what real life cannot—constant companionship and insight into her changing world. Books, however, can’t tell Anna how to find a true friend. She’ll have to discover that on her own. In the tradition of classics like Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books and Eleanor Estes’ One Hundred Dresses , this novel subtly explores what it takes to make friends and what it means to be one. "A gentle, affectionate take on familiar middle-grade issues and the joys of reading." — Kirkus "Tender . . . Cheng credibly portrays Anna's budding maturity." — Publishers Weekly "Cheng's telling is as straightforward yet sympathetic as her self-contained main character; and Halpin's often lighthearted pencil-and-wash sketches both decorate and enrich this perceptive novel." — Horn Book "Readers are led to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary, and to witness how kindness can draw trust and create confidence in a hesitant child." — School Library Journal "This is a remarkably pithy and nuanced portrait of a fourth-grader and her world, and the streamlined simplicity of Cheng's writing and the brief page count make it accessible." — Bulletin "The Year of the Book was a pleasure to read and more. This is a novel to treasure and share with every middle-grade reader you know." — New York Times Book — Andrea Cheng is the author of several children’s books, including the acclaimed middle-grade Anna Wang series critics call "gentle," "accessible," and "just right." Though she passed away in 2015, her books will continue to inspire readers. Visit her website at  andreacheng.com . Abigail Halpin is the talented illustrator of several chapter books including Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 2009), cover artwork for Emma Jean Lazarus Fell In Love (Puffin Books, 2010), The Melancholic Mermaid (Simply Read Books, 2010), Penny Dreadful (Random House, 2010) and The Grand Plan to Fix Everything (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, Spring 2011). Both illustrator and graphic designer, she lives in New England, a stone’s throw from the Maine coastline. See her artwork at: http://www.theodesign.com/ . One School Ray, the crossing guard, is waiting at the curb in his orange vest that catches the sunrise. "How’s my girl?" he asks. I show him the lunch bag that I sewed yesterday. "Well if that’s not the prettiest lunch bag I’ve ever seen." He tests the drawstrings. "It’s fabric left over from my bedspread," I tell him. "So your lunch matches your bed." Ray admires my handiwork. Laura and Allison join us at the curb. "How many more minutes until the bell, Ray?" Allison asks. Ray glances at his wristwatch. "You got about three minutes today, girls." Then he walks into the intersection and holds out his arms so we can cross. I’d rather stay with Ray than go onto the fourth grade playground where Laura and Allison stand so close that there’s no space left for me. "Hey, what’s that?" Laura asks, noticing my bag. "A lunch bag," I say. "Homemade?" Allison asks. I nod. She looks at Laura. Their eyes meet. We start out with the word of the week. Ms. Simmons writes it on the board. Perseverance. Laura’s hand shoots up before Ms. Simmons has even finished the last letter. She knows more words than the rest of us. "It’s when you don’t give up," she says. Ms. Simmons nods. "Can someone give us an example of perseverance?" Lucy raises her hand. "Like when I learned to play basketball," she says. Ms. Simmons tells us to write a paragraph about a time that we were perseverant. Laura starts right away. I don’t know how she thinks of ideas so fast. I stare at the blank paper. Then I see my lunch bag that’s on top of my books and that gives me an idea. On the top of my paper I write my name, Anna Wang , and the title, Making a Lunch Bag . I skip a line and then write: Making a lunch bag is not as easy as it looks. First I cut the rectangles too small because I forgot about the seam. Then I cut them again and made them bigger but I sewed the casing backwards. Allison glances at my paper. She leans over and says, "Perseverance has to be something that takes a really long time." She shows me her title: Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler . The blood rushes to my cheeks. Writing about making a lunch bag is stupid but it’s too late to start over. I don’t think Ms. Simmons will understand what I’m talking about, especially if she doesn’t know how to sew. I glance at the clock. Time is going by