The First Rule of Punk

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor BookThe First Rule of Punk is a wry and heartfelt exploration of friendship finding your place and learning to rock out like no one’s watching. There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad who now lives a thousand miles away says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.   The real Malú loves rock music skateboarding zines and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band Malú finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself! Black and white illustrations and collage art throughout make The First Rule of Punk a perfect pick for fans of books like Roller Girl and online magazines like Rookie.Armed with a microphone and a pair of scissors this book is all about creating something new and awesome in the world. Malú rocks! --Victoria Jamieson author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning Roller Girl

Age Range: 9 - 12 years

Grade Level: 4 - 7

Lexile Measure: 670L

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint edition (July 17 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0425290425

ISBN-13: 978-0425290422

Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces