Author: Claudia Mills
Lexile Score: none yet, my guess = 600
Genre: realistic fiction
Maturity level: 3rd grade (the kids in the book are 4th graders)
Pages: 90 Chapters: 10 Average Chapter Length: 9 + an illustration or two per chapter.
Theme: Overcoming obstacles. My book club students had several other themes that only fit for a chapter or two, such as biographies, music, & forgetfulness
Project ideas: Research a famous hero and have a biography tea party!
First Line: Riley gave up.
Main Character: Riley, who is studying Teddy Roosevelt.
Review in 25 words or less: Wonderful middle grade fiction, good themes and fun story lines, personal connections come easy and learning about biographies along the way is a bonus!
Grade: A
This is an absolute must-have for the 3rd grade book club shelf. Riley is a forgetful 4th grader with a life full of challenges. He desperately wants a saxophone, as his class will soon be starting instruments in music. His parents are divorced and there is very little money for such extravagances. In class, his teacher has assigned the students a famous person to study, report on, and ultimately dress up as for her annual "Biography Tea." Riley gets Roosevelt and throughout the story finds connections between Teddy and himself - ultimately transcending his obstacles and getting what he wants most.
This book is SO CLOSE to perfect! I really wish it had more connections between the historical figure biographies and the students studying them. Specifically, I wish the pairing of Riley and Roosevelt worked out better. He ends up having to rely on his friends (was that a theme of Teddy Roosevelt's life?) to accomplish his goal. Some of the connections for the other students are actually quite wonderful - his best friend, Grant, is studying Ghandi and has some brilliant episodes of humility, poverty, and compassion. One of the girls in class studies Helen Keller and her attempts at blindness and deafness add some interesting scenes, however lacking in actual deep connections. It would have made for such great discussion to have some more conflict with the students and their biographies.
I shouldn't take anything away from what is really a wonderful story. My students enjoyed it thoroughly and had wonderful discussions about earning money, emulating their heroes, and friendship. I won't put it in the top 5, but it is definitely a staple of the 3rd grade shelf.
Comments