泣き虫スマッシュ! がけっぷちのバドミントンペア、はじまる!?

Learner-friendly!

A few reasons why I think this book is good for learning and practicing reading comprehension:

• The POV switches between the two main characters from chapter to chapter, but it's easy to keep track. While both MCs are fifth grade girls, they have very distinct personalities, use different first person pronouns, and chapters are marked with a little illustration of whose POV it is.
• It's very familiar territory if you are a fan of sports manga and anime. A cheerful and competitive MC who overcomes obstacles to team up with a very different partner, a supportive coach, colorful rivals... Predictable, but that also makes the story easy to follow.
• Most words I expected to see in kanji are indeed written as such, plus furigana, in this book. A lot books for younger readers go with mostly hiragana, which to me is a much more frustrating reading experience.
• No prior knowledge about badminton needed! The only technical terms for the sport in the story are straightforward, like smash and rally.

Minus 1 star for spoilery story reasons (despite Nao's reasoning I don't love that her mom/coach gave permission for the jump smash. Shouldn't preventing injury always be top priority?) but still very enjoyable and a good read.