Operation: Cover-Up

Gr 3-6–Two kids start fifth grade at a new school—Sy, a blue cat, is a class clown, Nick, a crown-wearing bunny, is a brainiac. By some strange twist of fate, when they’re introduced to their new classmates, each gets mistakenly plastered with the other’s label. Everyone thinks the smart kid is a goof, and everyone thinks the goofball is highly intelligent. Nervous and eager to fit in, both decide to just go with it, trying on new personalities and charming their classmates with their ruse. Unfortunately, their fake-out skills are limited, and in a Cyrano de Bergerac–style narrative, they ultimately have to get together to fill in for the others’ weaknesses—and they can only keep the ruse up for so long. Both also have a collection of other idiosyncratic interests, and a school talent show ultimately gives them the opportunity to show their true colors and branch out beyond their comfortable yet confining niches. A multilayered middle grade problem story with lots of jokes and plot twists, this graphic novel captures the challenges of labeling oneself and accepting the labels other kids may assign peers in a fun albeit slightly complicated way.