Neecy and Nay Nay and the Tangled, Hairy Mess (Neecy and Nay Nay, book 1) by Simone Dankenbring and Syrone Harvey, illustrated by Maya Henderson (little bee books, 112 pages, grades 2-4). When Nay Nay wakes up with a big wad of gum in her hair, Big Mama takes her and her twin sister Neecy to Ms. Yvonne’s hair salon, where a spoonful of peanut butter takes care of the problem. The girls are inspired to open their own salon, which fits in nicely with the entrepreneurship project that they’re working on at school. After a successful style with one of their friends, they expand to facials and manicures, using a creative assortment of household items and producing some disastrous results. Instead of giving up, the girls learn from their mistakes and put together an A+ report on the do’s and don’ts of starting a small business. Includes Big Mama’s snickerdoodle recipe, a glossary of the big words Neecy likes to use, and a preview of book 2, which was released at the same time as this book.

Early chapter book readers will enjoy this new series. Each twin has her own distinctive personality and style, and there’s an interesting cast of supportive characters, including a close friend who lives in a foster family. The girls aren’t afraid to try new endeavors and are resilient when things don’t go as planned. Books 3 and 4 are due out by the end of the year.

Jojo vs. Middle School (Team Awkward, book 1) by Joy McCullough and Veeda Bybee (Aladdin, 192 pages, grades 3-7). Jojo’s first day of sixth grade gets off to a rough start: her mom’s embarrassing new boyfriend, online cat influencer Mr. Meow, has given Jojo a new kitten, who (unbeknownst to her) has chewed a hole in her new leggings. After she realizes that her cat-patterned underwear has been visible to the whole school all morning, Jojo retreats to an abandoned part of the school where she meets three other girls hiding from their catastrophic first mornings. A tentative friendship is born, and when they meet on the second day, they wind up sheltering in place after a bobcat sighting at the school. This results in not only a two-hour conversation that deepens their friendship, but a series of hilarious mishaps that cements it into Team Awkward. They wind up back at Mr. Meow’s with the “bobcat,” having inadvertently saved the day, and Jojo begins to see that Mr. Meow, whom she now calls Paul, may not be so bad. Book 2, featuring Team Awkward member Leah, will be out in June.

This book feels like a bit of a throwback, in a good way, since so many stories like this are being written as graphic novels these days. The chapter book format allows the introduction of many interesting characters, both at school and in each girl’s family, whom I hope we will get to see more of in upcoming books. Try it out on fans of Dork Diaries.