Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story–a Review

Let’s face it, reading is just plain fun!  At least, reading Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story has been just plain fun.  We received a physical copy of this truly entertaining paperback book for purpose of review.  Author Annie Tipton has hit a homerun with her book.  Published by Barbour Publishing, Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story is a delightful story.  Barbour Publishing began as a small independent publishing company in 1981.  Over the past twenty-two years, the company has carved out its own special niche -- publishing Christian classics at value prices. Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story holds true to their niche.  It is a classic book exhibiting a Christian worldview with a value price.  Containing 192 pages, Tipton’s first book in her Diary of a Real Payne series is priced at only $4.49 right now as opposed to the regular $5.99 pricing.  This fun book is recommended for kids ages 8-12, but it is suitable for anyone ages 8 and up. 

     With my kids all being at the independent reading age, we used this for independent recreational reading. I also read the book.  I am such a quick reader that it was no problem for all three of us to have time to read this over the past few weeks. My son has always loved any “diary of” type books.  he devours this type of book.  I was worried at first because the main character in the book is a young girl, but he has enjoyed it.  My daughter has enjoyed it even more because, I think, she relates to the main character, EJ Payne.  Hailing from the thriving metropolis of Spooner, Wisconsin, EJ keeps records of her rip-roaring antics and her far-reaching thoughts through her diary.  She keeps the diary because her mother thought it would be a good outlet for EJ’s extraordinary imagination.  EJ is not thrilled with life in a quiet town and dreams of accomplishing grand things when she finally makes her escape and is all grown.  At the height of disastrous tasks for EJ, she is ‘forced’ to portray the lead angel in the Christmas pageant that her church is putting on.  Surprisingly, EJ manages to ‘save’ Christmas. Her vivid imagination puts her into many unusual circumstances. She learns many life lessons through her story.  Some of the great lessons learned by EJ, and consequently by readers, are the understanding that we are all made in the image of God and thus all special and the ongoing lesson of being a servant.  With humor and hilarious antics, EJ learns these lessons and portrays them to readers without sounding the least bit preachy.  The story is a Christian based story, but is presented in a completely non-threatening way.  The character lessons that can be learned through EJ’s story are universal. I have enjoyed reading Tipton’s book as much as the kids have!  We are all looking forward to the second installment in the Diary of a Real Payne series.  Tipton has a real talent for communicating with a difficult age group.  The 8-12 year old age group (tweens) are so hard to write for because they are still very childlike yet they want to be treated more like adults.  The fun narrative journal style of this book allows kids to really get involved in the story and take ownership of the lessons learned without feeling like an adult is trying to teach them something.  Kudos to Annie Tipton and Barbour Publishing!  This is a great read!

     Many of my friends on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have been reading Diary of a Real Payne Book 1:  True Story. To read their reviews, click on the banner below.