Starring Jules

Lights! Camera! Action! A new chapter book star is on the rise! Things to Know About Meby Jules Bloom1. I am a scrambled-eggs-and-chocolate-milk type person. 2. I have an audition for a TV commercial (which would be great if I were a tall-icy-drink type person.)3. I am in between best friends right now.4. I am worried that the audition will be a disaster. (See #1 and #3!)Jules doesn't want to ruin THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME, and she's willing to turn to anyone for help--even her know-it-all ex-best friend! If only that lovely new girl in class would turn out to be the new best friend of her dreams,maybe, just maybe, Jules will be ready for her close-up.... Praise for Starring Jules #1: Starring Jules (As Herself) *"Fans of Judy Moody, Clementine, and other iconoclastic heroines will love getting to know Jules and look forward to the next book in this planned series." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -Kirkus A Pennsylvania girl at heart, Beth Ain fell in love with life in New York City, and she loves trying to capture the essence of family life there. Thankfully, she now has the benefits of both city and small town life, having settled in Port Washington, NY, where she lives very happily with her husband and their two kids. From Starring Jules (As Herself): "You know what?" Charlotte says. "I think you are kidding and that you are not at all allergic to those things. I think you just don't really want my help and what I think is that you are never going to get that commercial, Jules Bloom, and it serves you right, anyway, for dumping a superstar best friend like me in the first place." "I did not dump you, Charlotte!" I say louder than I usually speak. "You dumped me when you and the ABC's started whispering to each other about fancy towels at fancy hotels, which is exactly when you started liking lip gloss more than swing sets!" "Well, why didn't you just say that in the first place?!? And maybe you're the one who likes swing sets more than lip gloss, and who says that's better anyway?!" Charlotte shouts back. Then she stomps away, and Brynn and Abby follow. I stare at her for a long time after she walks away, and even though she said a lot of things, I can only think about the part she said about me not getting the commercial. Praise for Starring Jules #1: Starring Jules (As Herself) *"Fans of Judy Moody, Clementine, and other iconoclastic heroines will love getting to know Jules and look forward to the next book in this planned series." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -Kirkus

Jules is back starring in another hilarious chapter book! Things I Didn't Know About Being on TVby Jules Bloom 1. Shooting a pilot does not mean what you think it means.2. On TV, people live in mansions and have drivers!3. You get to completely change who you are, which everyone but me thinks I can do.4. You might have to miss the moving up play at school, which no one but me cares about. When Jules lands a role on a new TV show, she gets stuck choosing between taking part in her class moving up ceremony at school and shooting a sitcom. And that's only half the drama! With a quiet best friend who won't ever hoot and holler and an ex-best friend who may be moving to the burbs, Jules's insides are all mixed-up. She'll need a little bit of nerve and a whole lot of pizzazz if she wants to make it through the last month of second grade without turning into a drama queen! Praise for Starring Jules (as herself) *"Fans of Judy Moody, Clementine, and other iconoclastic heroines will love getting to know Jules and look forward to the next book in this planned series." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -Kirkus A Pennsylvania girl at heart, Beth Ain fell in love with life in New York City, and she loves trying to capture the essence of family life there. Thankfully, she now has the benefits of both city and small town life, having settled in Port Washington, NY, where she lives very happily with her husband and their two kids. From Starring Jules (in Drama-rama)I wake up with a giant pain in my stomach. "Mommy!" I yell, which does not bring my mom, but it does bring my brother."What, Jules?" he says with his hands asking the question, like a grown-up. Sometimes I think Big Henry is more like a parent than a little boy. "Tell Mommy I have a Charlotte-ache," I say.Big Henry leaves and I pull the covers over my head and wait."A Charlotte-ache?" my mom says, standing over my head. She has not yet pulled the covers off of me, and I know it's coming. I nod."So, we're talking about a stomachache, right?" she asks.I nod again."A stomachache because you have to go to school and tell Charlotte that you are not filming your part in the movie today?"I nod again and I can't believe she hasn't pulled the covers off yet. I feel like I might suffocate. I picture the ocean in Florida and getting sucked away by the undertow and I start to panic. I sit straight up and throw the covers off of me. "Why didn't you pull off my covers? I WAS DROWNING!" I say in a very loud voice, louder than my mother is comfortable with."Excuse me?" she says in her about-to-freak-out voice.I start to cry. "She is going to make fun of me," I say. My ex-best friend, Charlotte (Stinkytown) Pinkerton, is just waiting for me to fail at being an actor. "And then she is going to tell me that she knows Hollywood and that this means there will be no movie and that I will never be a movie star and that at least it was nice while it lasted." Praise for Starring Jules (as herself) *"Fans of Judy Moody, Clementine, and other iconoclastic heroines will love getting to know Jules and look forward to the next book in this planned series." -Publishers Weekly, starred review "Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -Kirkus

Lights! Camera! Action! Jules is back to take center stage! School is out, and Jules is hitting the road! She's off to Montreal where she'll film her first ever movie, The Spy in the Attic. But that means no friends around on her birthday and no birthday party. And with only a hockey player and diva starlet as cast mates in a town where no one speaks her language, Jules is feeling awfully lonely. Good thing her best friend Elinor is sending super-secret spy missions tokeep Jules busy. With a little stealth and a whole lot of gumption, she just might be able to turn her bummer summer into a blockbuster. Praise for STARRING JULES (AS HERSELF)"Ain gives Jules a truly funny narrative voice; her personality, misunderstandings, and tendency to overthink things are the driving force behind the story..."--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review"Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence."--KIRKUS REVIEW A Pennsylvania girl at heart, Beth Ain fell in love with life in New York City, and she loves trying to capture the essence of family life there. Thankfully, she now has the benefits of both city and small town life, having settled in Port Washington, NY, where she lives very happily with her husband and their two kids. rom STARRING JULES (SUPER-SECRET SPY GIRL)"They say your movie is going to be a blockbuster," Charlotte says the minute she sees me. "Who says?" I say."Variety," Charlotte says. "What's Variety?" I ask."It's a magazine all about important things that happen in show business," Charlotte says. "I can't believe you don't read it. You are seriously the worst child actress ever.""Well, maybe Jules doesn't NEED a magazine to tell her things she already knows," Elinor says, "because she's an actual actress in an actual movie, so she already knows these things in the first place."What am I ever going to do without Elinor this summer?"Well, anyway, between Rick Hinkley and Emma Saxony, who is practically perfect, I don't think anyone will notice you so much, Jules, so that's good," Charlotte says. "You won't have to be so crazy nervous all the time."I glare at her because I'm pretty sure she isn't complimenting me."Anyway, have fun in England, Elinoh! Sorry you're missing my luncheon," Charlotte says before stomping away. She is throwing herself a going-to-sleepaway-camp luncheon at the diner. What makes it a luncheon and not just a lunch is the fact that it is a lunch party. I know this because I made the mistake of asking Charlotte when she invited me. "Oh, don't leave without giving me your address," she shouts from the swing set. "I'll be writing to you all on scented stationery with scented markers.""She better not send me anything orange-scented," I say. Maybe I don't read Variety, but I do know that this movie might end up being popular, and I am trying to forget about that since it makes me nervous. I have been trying to spend less time thinking about all these people going to sit in their sticky, squeaky movie-theater seats watching the spy version of me, and more time thinking about Canada and all the things I'm going to get to do there."She's wrong anyway, Julesium." Teddy Lichtenstein has arrived at the picnic. "According to research, any movie with a former sports star who tries to be a movie star doesn't end up doing very well at all." "Thanks, Teddy," I say.We run around and swing high on the swings and eat sushi rolls and grapes all afternoon until people start packing up. My mom and Teddy's mom, Andie, barely ever look up from the conversation they are having on our blanket, and I wonder why they never run out of things to talk about."Elinor," Mrs. Breedlove says, coming over to us, "we have to get on with it."At this, my mom stands up and the two moms look at each other with the mom expression that means everyone

Lights! Camera! Action! Jules is back to take center stage! Jules is a third grader at last! But so far, the reviews aren't good. Her new teacher makes her feel totally tongue-tied. Charlotte shows up on the first day wearing the one thing Jules really wants but will never get. And she already has homework-researching a famous person to become for the class wax museum project. But how will she decide who to be? Even worse, her after-school sitcom rehearsals are harder than ever-especially since the TV show is about to air for all the world to see. Jules needs to find her inner superstar if third grade is ever going to be a smash hit. Praise for Starring Jules (as herself):* "Ain gives Jules a truly funny narrative voice; her personality, misunderstandings, and tendency to overthink things are the driving force behind the story..." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -- Kirkus ReviewsParents magazine, best new series 2013 A Pennsylvania girl at heart, Beth Ain fell in love with life in New York City, and she loves trying to capture the essence of family life there. Thankfully, she now has the benefits of both city and small town life, having settled in Port Washington, NY, where she lives very happily with her husband and their two kids. Praise for Starring Jules (as herself):* "Ain gives Jules a truly funny narrative voice; her personality, misunderstandings, and tendency to overthink things are the driving force behind the story..." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"Debut author Ain introduces a new chapter-book darling with pizzazz and quite a stage presence." -- Kirkus ReviewsParents magazine, best new series 2013