Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker

Some girls are happy wearing pink dresses with ruffles. Others are ninjas who climb trees and are cofounders of top-secret organisations. Beatrice Zinker definitely isn't a fan of pink dresses with ruffles.

Beatrice is a middle child. Her older sister, Kate, is just like her Mum. Her younger brother, Henry, is just like her Dad. Beatrice does all of her best thinking upside down and finds it difficult being the only upside down daughter in a right side up family. Even Oliver, the Zinker's cat, is right side up!

Beatrice meets her friend Lenny on Halloween night in first grade. They were alike and enjoyed playing pirates, ninjas, zombies and knights. Beatrice is now starting third grade at William Charles Elementary and is ready to start Operation Upside with Lenny, a plan Beatrice has been working on all summer.

Everything changes for Beatrice when Lenny walks into the first day of third grade, not wearing her ninja suit, but pink! With sparkles, no less! And Lenny's made a new friend! Is Operation Upside doomed for failure before it even begins?

This is such a heartwarming story. You feel better about yourself and the world after you finish reading it. Beatrice teaches us the importance of being yourself. She learns that you can turn a confusing day into a good one if you look at it the right way and that there are always things you can do to make a bad day better.

There are plenty of adorable illustrations that add to the story and bring Beatrice's upside down thinking to life. The quirkiness of the illustrations remind me of Quentin Blake's illustrations in Roald Dahl's children's books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Books, Australia for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. Beatrice is funny and spunky, and is soon to make friends with young girls all over the world. She will resonate with so many girls that feel different and she'll teach them that their differences are special and deserve to be celebrated. I can't wait until the second Beatrice Zinker book is released!

Beatrice Zinker is my kind of thinker, she likes to hang upside down, climb trees, and find the most secret of places at school to hang around (literally). She solves every problem upside down except her biggest problem of all, her family are all right-side-up people. Beatrice is one of a kind, no one like her, except her friend Lenny…or so she thought…
This story sees Beatrice navigating through the challenges faced by an up-side-down thinker, about friendships changing, trying to go school dressed as a ninja (and mum not noticing) and making compromises to accommodate these changes.
I think it is a lovely book for your reader 8 years and above, and the message that comes from it is that it is important to be yourself. Even on those most confusing days Beatrice managed to use a bit of her quirkiness to turn the day around.
The illustrations throughout were a nice addition to the book and I felt that the illustrator really got a sense of who Beatrice Zinker is. My only disappointment is just as I was getting engrossed in the book it ended.
I hope that we see more adventures from Beatrice Zinker Upside-Down-Thinker soon.