Bad Times of Irma Baumlein

I think this is a great book for young girls AND young guys. I had to attend several different schools as my parents moved often, and I totally identified with the bookish character Irma trying to fit in. I'm so glad to find out this book is still around!

THE BAD TIMES OF IRMA BAUMLEIN is a great little novel about one young girl's sometimes hilarious struggle to fit in and find friendship. Quiet and bookish, Irma has a hard time making friends in the small town where she and her father have moved so he can manage great uncle's department store. Irma feels stifled in the huge, gloomy mansion where they live with a bevy of canterkerous elderly aunts and uncles, but worst of all, Irma feels her artist mother, who stayed behind in the city to finish a commissioned project, may never come back and if she does, she will have had a face lift! So when a friendly classmate chats her up on the walk home from school, Irma has to say SOMETHING, and that something is a lie that leads to a series of misadventures for our longsuffering, sometimes befuddled heroine.Irma's fears and worries ring true, and she is a likeable character. As Irma struggles to protect her lie, the deception grows, and Brink reveals the repercussions Irma's actions have on other people, not to mention the outlandish lengths Irma goes to to make others believe her story. It does end happily, however, and Irma learns some important truths about friendship and honesty. THE BAD TIMES OF IRMA BAUMLEIN is the original title: IRMA'S BIG LIE was a new title given to the novel when it was published through Scholastic Books as a paperback

I've been trying to find this book for my niece for over a year!I read this when I was in 5th grade and loved it! Very humorous story of misfit girl who tells a lie about owning the biggest doll in the world! When her classmates demand to see the doll, Irma finds herself with quite a dilemma. I believe it was originally entitled Irma's Big Lie, so I'm glad I was able to find it! Highly recommended for young girls 8 - 10.

This is the story of a lonely little girl who longs to fit in after moving to a new town. She tells a lie to impress a new friend, and the lie takes on a life of it's own. My daughter and I read this book together (she is only 6), and we both loved it. My little girl felt she could really relate to Irma, and the idea of "honesty" was really grasped. There is quite a bit of humor in this book, and I belive the reader can really identify with the protagonist. I read this book as a child, and enjoyed it just as much as an adult.