Because of Winn-Dixie

              For such a small book, there is a lot going on. Indian Opal goes into a grocery store and a stray dog comes into the store. So, the dog does not have to go to the pound, Opal decides to adopt the dog and call him Winn-Dixie. Opal takes the dog home to her dad, who is a preacher. The reader finds out that Opal’s mom left them when she was a baby. Opal does not remember her mom and wants to learn more about her. She asks her dad about her mom and finds out ten things (ten things because she is 10) about her mom. As Opal gets use to the new town she is in, and befriends Winn-Dixie, she makes new friends and finds out that her life is not the only one with problems. She befriends the old lady that works at the library, who tells her stores. She befriends and works with Otis, the man at the pet shop, who gives her a job to buy a collar and leash for Winn-Dixie. She finds out that Otis had gone to jail for playing music on the street. She also becomes friends with Gloria Dump, a lady that lives by herself. People think that Gloria Dump is a witch, and when Winn-Dixie runs into Gloria’s yard, she finds out that there is more to her life than just a beautiful garden. Gloria shows Opal a tree with bottles hanging from the branches. The bottles represent all the trouble she has caused. She even befriends a little girl that she thought did not like her, but finds out that the little girl lost her brother a year ago, and is having a tough time with it. 

These can all be very hard topics to talk about with students. Students might have someone who has or is in jail. Students might be living with one parent because of a death or leaving. How do you talk about those situations with your students? I think that those situations are tough to talk about, but they should be talked about. Talking about tough situations teaches others to have empathy. But, how do you go about talking about tough situations? I would start with explaining that there are different reasons, like different reasons why people go to jail. I would ask talk about how people handle situations differently. I would also ask how they would feel if something like a family member leaving would make them feel. That is a tough subject, but could provide interesting answers.           

         In the book, Opal creates two different list. One list is ten things that her dad told her about her mom. The second list was ten things that she knows about Winn-Dixie. She created the Winn-Dixie list when she thought Winn-Dixie ran away during a storm. I would ask students to write a list of ten things that are special about someone in their family, a friend or even a pet. I think they could even make several different lists. It would be interesting to see what things the student sees as important when creating a list.

         I liked this book. For me this was a very easy read, but there was so much to create themes and lessons around. I think students would like this book, and it would keep them interested.

Wonder part 2

                Wouldn’t it be great to know what other people thought about you? I know I would love that sometimes. What do people really think about when they meet me or after they spend time with me. In Wonder, R.J. Palacio, allows the reader to hear from different characters, not just the main character. The reader reads about that character’s life and how they interact with the main character. In the second part of Wonder you hear from Jack Will and how he is trying to repair his relationship with August. Because Jack still wants to be friends with August and he punched Julian in the face, people started a war between the boys. This is fifth grade, should there really be any kind of war or bad blood between students? If this is what it is going to be like every year for August and his friends, well school is going to feel really long.

              The next character we get to hear from is Olivia’s boyfriend, Justin. I thought this was a very minor character to put into the story. I think that it is a very interesting chose to put this character into the book because he gets to not only interact with Olivia, but August as well. I don’t think Olivia really prepared Justin very well for meeting her brother, he seemed very surprised by seeing him. One of the lines that I think stuck out the most in Justin’s chapters was when he was remembering what Miranda told him she said, “the universe was not kind to auggie Pullman.” She is right, the universe was not very kind to Auggie.

             After we hear from Justin we hear from August again. Auggie ends up getting hearing aids because he is starting to lose his hearing. He does not like them at first because it would be another thing to make him standout, but it turns out that he really likes them. Then Auggie’s dog Daisy dies. Daisy was always there for Auggie, and there to comfort him. Losing Daisy was really hard for Auggie and the rest of the family. Another big part in the book was when Auggie and Olivia’s mom finds out that Olivia is going to be in a play. The problem is that Olivia did not want anyone from her family to go. She knew if her family went then Auggie would be there and she is trying to keep her home and school life separate. She never came out and said the reason she did not want her family there because of August, but it was very much implied. They did end up going to the play, and Olivia did great. One of the most touching scenes in the book was at the end. At the end of the book, Auggie goes on a weekend trip with his class and there are other schools there too. Some seventh-grade students from another school start making fun of Auggie. Auggie stands up for himself and Jack, but that does not stop the seventh graders. Some other fifth grade students that are not really friends with Auggie come by and help him. They end up running away. The most significant part was that when they came back to finish watching the movie everything had changed between the other fifth grade students and Auggie. They saw Auggie as one of them. At the end of fifth grade they have a graduation and at the graduation Auggie receives an award called the Henry Ward Beecher medal which is about recognizing greatness. When he gets this award, people start clapping and giving him a standing ovation. Then at the very end his mom says something so touching. She says “Thank you, Auggie,” …”For everything you’ve given us. For coming into out lives. For being you. You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder.” Sometimes having a parent say something to you that is heartfelt is worth much more than an award.

           As I was reading this book, I was trying to come up with an ideas for assignments, but I got so into the book I sort of forgot. I think that sometimes just reading the book and having a discussion is all you need, especially for a great book like Wonder.  I think that different parts of the book, split up into characters, could be a great assignment. What I was thinking is for students to write themselves into the book as a character. How did they meet August? What is their relationship with him? How did they see him when they first meet? How do they see him now? As a friend? As weird? What is something that they learned by being friends with August? Does their perception of people with disabilities change after meeting someone with a disability or deformation? I think this activity would get students thinking and get them to be creative. I also like the assignment the teacher had the students do in the book. The teacher had students write their own precepts. I think having students do this activity gets them thinking about what they find important in life and something they feel can be inspirational.

          I loved this book. I could go for hours talking about all the parts I loved, that made me sad or made me laugh. I think that this is a book all students should read because it is so great and very inspirational.

wonder part 1

        

               Growing up being teased and made fun of is never something you want to go through. I was teased all the time growing up for either being really tall or being white in an all Hispanic school or just for being shy. I never had any abnormalities like Auggie does in Wonder, but the author writes this story with so much feeling that the reader feels like they are like Auggie. Reading this book, I felt like I knew what Auggie was going through. There were points that I cried, points where I was sad, and others times where I was smiling and laughing.

           Auggie has been sheltered all his life by his parents because of his health problems and also because they know the weird looks Auggie gets. Now it is time for Auggie to start 5^th grade and his mom thinks that he needs to go to a school. Auggie is not to thrilled with this idea (and I would not be either). He ends up going to school, and everywhere he walks people look at him like he has the plague. He gets some friends because he has a great personality, but there are some kids that still make fun of him. On Halloween, Auggie was so excited to wear his custom because he could feel normal, the mask made him feel that way. He walked into class thinking that this was the day he was not going to be made fun of, but he overheard someone he thought was his friend making fun of him and saying he did not know why Auggie was following him around. Auggie eventually forgave Jack for what he said. (I don’t think I could forgive Jack).

          This book has so many emotions going through it. I like that the story starts off with Auggie and his story then leads into other people. The other people’s stories get told, but then they talk about how they interact with Auggie and what they thought about him when they first saw him. Auggie’s sister is a sad story because she feels like she does not get as much attention as Auggie. She also wants to start high school with no one knowing how Auggie is because well she says she is not ashamed of him, but she is at times.  She talks about going to her Grandmas’ house for two week because Auggie had a surgery. When she comes home she talks about seeing Auggie the same way everyone else sees him like, a monster.

         As I was reading this book, I was wondering how I can make this book into different lessons. I think that it would be very insightful to have students write about a time where they felt like an outsider or different because of something about them. I also think that it would be interesting for students to write about how they would feel if someone like Auggie was in their class. How would you interact with them? Would you try to be their friend or ignore them? Would you be scared of them like everyone else? I also would like to do a craft project by drawing a self-portrait making sure they got all their features, and show everyone how different everyone is. I would also talk with the students about respect and bullying. These are very important topics and sometimes not talked about a lot. I would like students to write about what bullying means to them, then as a class create a document of things they will do to stop bullying and how they will hold themselves responsible if they are caught bullying someone. Then have the students sign it. There are so many great lessons in this book, especially on how to treat others.

         I think that this is a great book and all students should read this. It is not hard to read and the chapters are very simple. I think that the book captures different emotions and gets you think about how you treat others. Such a great book and I cannot wait to read more. 

Wednesday Wars Part 2

I have always loved reading. You can gain so much from reading. You can get so invested in the characters that sometimes you might forget they are in a book. There are some books that I never want to put down and would pick up to read over again. But sometimes you find a book that does not hold your interest like others.

At first I was into Wednesday Wars, but as the book went on I wanted something else to happen. Holling at first was a character that I wanted to see what happened next to him. He was always in these weird situations like the play or the rats getting out of the cage. But somewhere along the way I lost interest in Holling. I gain more interest in Mrs. Baker and we were only given so much information on Mrs. Baker. I wanted to know her Olympic experience, and about her husband. I also wanted to know more about what was going on in history around Holling. They talked about the presidency and Martin Luther King Jr., but Holling never really talked about what he thought of everything, just what his sister thought. I also became mad at the dad, for not helping his daughter when she ran away and then wanted to come back home. I don’t know what I was looking for in this book, but it never came, whatever it was. At the end of the book Holling wanted a Barometz like his friend because it was a moment to become a man. I wanted to have a bigger moment, something that was memorable or words that I could come to over and over again. There were moments in this book that were great, but most of it could be easily forgotten.

With all that said I think that it is important that students know it is okay to not like all books. The thing that I really think you need to emphasize is that there should be a reason not just “because I didn’t”. I would still have my students read to book to see if there was something they did like about the book. I also think someone who does not like the book can provide great feedback and discussion; they could provide a different point of view. I do have to say though that I did like they added in different parts of history. These book leads well in to social studies. These parts of history in the book can lead to teaching about the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King Jr. or Kennedy. Ask the students what they might know about any parts of history they talk about. I would even have student’s choice different historical parts from the book, and do a report on it. You can ask “What are the most significant events of the Vietnam War?” “What was Martin Luther King Jr. marching to Washington for?” The questions could go on and on.

The Wednesday Wars

     Wednesday Wars. There are so many things I thought of when I read this title. I thought that there was going to be a war between schools or teachers. I did not expect the type of experiences and stories that I am getting when reading this book.

      Wednesday Wars is about a middle school boy named Holling Hoodhood. I know weird name and they have not really said what the meaning of the name is or even if there is a meaning. But Holling is a Presbyterian, so he does not get to leave school for church on Wednesday. He gets stuck staying with his teacher that he believes is out to get him. She even makes him read Shakespeare.  To me that does not sound fun at all, but Holling is really into it. At first Holling is against read the book, but he has to because his father is trying to get a contract to build a building for Holling’s teachers family. I should probably tell you the teachers name, her name is Mrs. Baker. Even though Holling believes that Mrs. Baker is mean and is out to get him, the truth is she is really nice and wants the best for her students.

There are some great stories that Holling tells, like the time the rats got lose and him and Mrs. Baker had to stand on the desk. There was also the time where Holling was clapping out some chalk board erasers and the chalk floated in to the classroom and got all over the pastries. I think my favorite one was Holling getting in to a Shakespeare play and playing a fairy. Holling wanted nothing to do with the play after he got the part of the fairy, but did it because he needed money for pastries for his class. These stories make you smile because so many things go wrong for Holling, but even though Holling thinks that Mrs. Baker is out to get him, she is the one that helps him out the most.

I do not know a lot about the Vietnam war, so even for me it would be great to talk about or look up. I would use the fact that the Vietnam war was talked about to turn it into a chance to talk about a part of history. I would turn it into a teaching point about how certain people were treated. In the book, there is a little girl named Mai Thi, she is not treated very well by one of the cooks. When all the other students got hot chocolate, Mai Thi did not get any because she is from Vietnam. This would be a good time to talk about how we can make others feel like outcast just by small things that we do. You could have one student picked out (make sure to talk to that student beforehand and tell them what you are going to do) and not give them something, and see what the other students say or do. Is there a student that does something or says something about that student not getting what everyone else has? I guess you could talk about Shakespeare, but for elementary students it might be hard to understand the books they are reading in the Wednesday Wars.

The interesting thing about this book is that there are so many different things that deal with parts of history. At first I did not know when this book took place, but then they started talking about the Vietnam war.  

I think that this book is interesting. At first I was not very into the book, but as it went a long I have seen the little important pieces of this book. You get caught up with the characters. I want to know more about Mrs. Baker, I want to find out what happens next to Holling. I think that some students many not be into this book and some it may take a while to get into, but it is a good read (so far).

Hatchet part 2

                 Have you ever been in a situation where you just have to do whatever it cost to survive? It could be as simple as a school assignment or as hard as surviving in the wilderness. Brain had that thought of having do anything to survive in the hope that someone will find him. It seemed like Brian was willing to try anything to get someone to find him, but as time went on he started to give up hope. Brian faced many hard and scary situations. He faced animals that were watching him or wanted to hurt him, like the bear or the moose that went and attacked him. At that point I would have given up or ran far away. Brian was also very resourceful. He found food all over the place with eggs and berries. There was one time when Brian invented a bow and arrow to catch fish. Brain had to think really hard about the bow and arrow being in the water because you think you know where the fish was but it was in a different place caused by the bending of the water.

At one point I thought Brain would have given up completely. A tornado came through and

destroyed a lot of what he had, and almost killed him. At that point and time, even thought it was a disaster, it gave Brian hope because the tornado caused the water to move and the plane to be exposed.

 There brain was able to gather more supplies from the plane. There was one thing that I thought was really interesting in this whole book, Brian said that he was the new Brian. The line that I thought was so important to Brian’s new found identity was, “He was not the same. The plane passing changed him, the disappointment cut him down and made him new. He was not the same and would never be again like he had been. That was one of the true things, the new things. And the other one was that he would not die, he would not let death in again. He was new.” That sentence shows that Brain has made a transition from old too new, and I think was a great line.

There are many great lines in this book, and many great experiences that Brain goes through. Most experiences, we would never have to experience. I think a great activity would be for students to find a situation that Brain has gone through, and then write about how they would get through that experience. Maybe it was trying to find food. What kind of food could you find? What animals would you have to share the food with? Another great activity is to change the location of the plane crash. What if the plane crashed in the desert or jungle? What food would you find? What about the shelter? This would require some research by the students, but could be fun and interesting to see what the students come up with.

I truly thought this book was great, and kept me guessing what would happen next. I would recommend this book to students, especially students that are not interested in reading because this will keep them hooked.

Hatchet part 1

Have you ever been so scared of being alone? Has there ever a time that you thought that you were going to die because you were in a situation that you were uncomfortable with. That was what Brian Robeson, a thirteen-year-old boy experienced when his plane crashed in the middle of the woods. Brain was traveling to see his dad in Canada after he saw his mom with another man. In his mind he was dealing with a lot. Then the pilot had a heart attack as they were flying. Brain was freaking out. I was freaking out for Brain. When the plane landed in the water Brain had only a few things left with him, one of those things being a hatchet.  

What do you do when you are so desperate, and need of survival? Do you just sit back and wait? Do you make the most of it and figure out how to survive? Or do you just give up? These are some of the questions that I think Brian was asking himself not only when the plane landed, but as time went on and no one was coming. I would even turn these questions into questions for my students. Depending on which one they picked, I would have them design a plan of action. If they were to just sit back and wait for someone to rescue them, what would they do with their time? Would they need a shelter and food? If they were to build a shelter what would it look like? What food would they find, and how would they get that food? What about other animals in the wild? So many questions can come from this book and so many activities. If you are wanting to know what the shelter would look like, provide some material and have students design their shelter. To make it hard have them consider rain or other weather elements. Also have them write or tell why they built the shelter the way they did; make it so they have to think about it.

This book kept me interesting and wanting to keep on reading, so I could see what happened to Brian. This is a great book to make predictions with.

There is one line in the first half of the book that I loved. Brian was thinking about what Perpich use to tell him, “You are your most valuable asset. Don’t forget that. You are the best thing you have.” I thought this line was great because you are one of the most valuable asset you can have while surviving. Thinking quick on your feet, and thinking about every situation either before or after something happens is important. I think this is a great quote for students and one that should be talk about with the class. Some students have different assets to them. Some are more physical that could, most likely build the shelter or move logs. While others are more of the visual, they can see what the shelter could look like before they actually build it. I can see a teacher putting this together as a project. A group of students is stranded in the forest each of you has a different job. What job would you have and why? I think that would be really fun and great interaction among students.

The BFG part 2

       There are so many quotable moments in the BFG. One of my favorites is, “Giants is also making rules. Their rules is not suiting the human beans. Everybody is making is making his own rules to suit himself.” This is a great line that can lead into a great lesson. You can talk to students about respect and selfishness. There are so many different character traits that lessens can be designed around like bullying, and you talk about the BFG getting bullied by the other Giants.

     Another character trait that you can talk about is courage. Sophie wanted to tell someone about the giants so they could not hurt or kill any more children. It took a lot of courage for the BFG to trust Sophie with her plan to tell the Queen of England about the giants. The Queen and the people of England could have turned against the BFG. Other people besides Sophie, don’t know that he can be trusted to not eat anyone. Trust is another big character trait because Sophie had to trust the BFG to not harm her, and the BFG had to trust everyone else.

      Besides character traits, I love the imagination and creativity not only from the author, but from the characters he created in this book. When the BFG and Sophie went to England to talk to the Queen and the Queen invited them to eat breakfast the butler, Mr. Tibbs, used his imagination. Mr. Tibbs used a grand piano, four clocks, and a ping pong table to create a table for the BFG. I think that it would be a great lesson for students to use their imagination to create a structure for a giant. This would include math to figure out measurement, like “how tall would a table have to be for a giant to eat at?”

       For a teacher there are great lessons, but for students it is a great book. The book would keep students interested, some parts would make them laugh. While other parts will make them upset with the consent bullying. There are so many great parts of this book that many students would want to pick this book up again and again.

The BFG part 1

     Oh how I love this book it gives so many great lessons for kids. This book is sweet and engaging, not only for me, but could be for students. Form the title of the book you know that the big friendly giant was going to be friendly, but when he showed up to take Sophie, I thought maybe he was mean. That idea of figuring out what might happen in the book based off of the title is a good exercise for students.

    I liked the relationship between the BFG and Sophie, they talked about themselves and the conflicts they have encountered. It is a true best friend relationship, well at least after Sophie realized that the BFG was not going to eat her.

      One thing I noticed right away was the language that was used. On page 28 the author writes, “make the giant cross.” I know that the language is different because the book is based in England and the author is from there as well. I think the language or word choice needs to be explained to students. The teacher can also use this as a way to introduce geography and culture to the class. I also think that the way the giant talks needs to be addressed or even use it as a launching point to talk about people learning English and how it can be difficult. The BFG explains his language the best on page 53, he states, “Words, he said, is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.”

     Another thing I loved, is the author’s use of words to draw up images. The author uses great imagery on page 33, “The sun was up now and shining fiery-hot over the great yellow wasteland with its blue rocks and dead trees.” Doesn’t that put just a great image in your mind. Also, a great way to show students that they can put this style and images into their writing.

     There is so much I love about this book. I love the funky words because they are funny and remind me of Dr.Seuss. I love that the BFG captures dreams and gives them to kids, and that the dreams the author describes are descriptive. I love the BFG’s big heart.   

      The BFG also has some great lessons that he teaches Sophie. One that I like is on pg. 48 where he says, “Just because we happen not to have actually seen something with our own two little winkles, we think it is not existing.” Such a great line and I think that you can use this sentence for a great lesson on imagination and write something great.

How to Steal a Dog Part 2

      Having a conscious is sometimes a hard thing because you so desperately want to do one thing, but your conscious tells you not too. Georgina had that same conscious when she stole Willy from his owner. She knew she did a bad thing, but really wanted the reward money. Georgina felt even more guilty about stealing Willy when she meets with Willy’s owner, and saw how much she loved Willy. When Georgina thought that she would get reward money, but found out that Willy’s owner was not rich like she thought, was a very sad part of the book. That part of the book was a good lesson for Georgina, and even students, that even though people look like they have a lot of money or even look like they have a good life, does not mean that it is the truth. Georgina had that same situation with the students at her school, she wanted them to think that she still lived in her house, and still had a loving family with a dad, but that was not the truth.    

      I thought that adding in Mookie to the book was great because he was teaching her without actually saying anything. He was like her conscious, and when he started talking about Willy not being at home, you could tell that Georgina was upset about what she had done. Mookie also showed Georgina that even if you do not have a lot, you can still be happy and help others along the way. Even though the book never stated that Mookie fixed Georgina’s mom’s car, you could figure it out from the context clues. Which is something that students should be taught about.  Teachers can use the context clues to help figure out different scenarios in this book and many others.  I also thought it was funny that Mookie would share food with Willy because it was horrible sounding food like liver, but Willy still at the food. Mookie had such a good heart to help Georgina, her mom, and Willy, when he did not have to.

      The one part of the book that I did not like was the way Georgina treated her little brother, Toby. Georgina stated in the book that toby was dumb for being in third grade, but he was actually the smart one. Toby wanted to return Willy from the beginning, he also kept on asking the questions that Georgina never thought about, and questions the reader could be asking.

      This is a great book for students to get an understanding of homelessness, and stealing. It also teaches students to help others even when you do not get the recognition, like when Mookie fixed the car. I hope that students like this book like I did because this book has heart, and great lessons.

How to Steal a Dog Part 1

We all go through tough times and some people face tougher times than others. But would those tough times lead you to do something you never thought you would? Do kids do things that they believe was for the best, but wasn’t? Does someone wanting to do good, but is actually bad, make the bad thing okay? Well these are all questions that I would ask my students while the read How to Steal a Dog by Barbara Connor.

     I have never been in a situation like Georgina and her family were placed in. Georgina, her mother, and brother lived in their car after their dad left and their mom could no longer pay for rent. This situation made Georgina feel like she did not belong at school and embarrassed. I would feel just like Georgina. Nothing makes you feel less adequate then not having the latest toy or feeling left out.

    It is hard to think that there are students that will be facing the same problems that Georgina has. Georgina was so desperate to do something to help her family that she ended up stealing a dog. To some people. They may see this just see this as a bad situation, but to Georgina she was desperate to help her family. Did Georgina do something bad? Yes. Did Georgina have good intentions in mind when she stole the dog? Yes.

    The problem I have with this book is that there may be students that are in situations like Georgina. It would be a good idea that teachers know students background, and know the home situation because you do not want to put students in a tough situation or feel embarrassed while reading this book.

     What I do like about this book, is that it has heart, and makes you go through different emotions. As I was reading this book, I was sad, confused, mad, and many more emotions. I think that teachers can use this book as a way to explain to students that there are people that cannot afford everything, and that stealing is bad.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid part 2

           Adults always tell children or teens to never give up, keep on trying, or try new things.  Greg Heffley took never give up and try new things to the extreme. Throughout the book, Greg was always wanting to try something new. Greg went from wanting to gain muscle for wrestling by working out (he got bored), to wanting to be a cartoonist for the school newspaper (did not work out). You can never say that Greg never tried. In one of his classes Greg wanted to build a robot, but the idea did not turn out as planed, and well, he got kicked out of the class. Students could take away from Greg's mistakes that he tried something  new even if it did not go as planned.
         Greg lets his friend take the blame for something bad he did, and never said anything. This is when I would step in and say something to my students, and explain to them that lying is bad. That is part of the book I did not like, Greg was mean to people especially his best friend. His best friend always stuck by his side until Greg did not step in and said he was the one who chased the kids with the worm on the stick. I also found it weird how he said that other students were dumb or mean, when he did really dumb things like let his friend take the fall for his mistake.
       There is so much humor in this book that it almost makes you miss a good underlying subject that a student can take away from reading this book. But the humor only adds to reasons why students would love to read this book. The underlying subjects like bullying, lying, and never giving up, are great teaching points for parents and teachers. I think that even though the character in the story has some faults, I believe this book will encourage students to read more.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid part 1

           As you get older, do you ever reflect on what elementary, middle, or high school were like? I reflect on my old school days all the time, especially now that I am going into teaching. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, brought back memories of when I was in middle school, and not all of them were that great. Okay, the truth is that I have been trying to forget about my memories of middle school (not my fondest memories).

            In the book Greg Heffley wanted to be popular, so he thought that if he wrote in his “journal” (his mom bought him a diary) about his life in middle school, he could be famous. Don’t we all want to be popular or famous when we are young (oh how life changes). I remember just wanting to get through middle school without any trouble. Greg thought that being popular was the best way to get all the girls. Greg also thought that being the best at wrestling would make him popular. The problem Greg with that idea is that he did not have any muscle. At least he was participating in activities at school.

         Greg has two brothers and a best friend that sometimes embarrass him. Such a typical life situation. I think siblings were made to embarrass each other, I know I can come up with a thousand stories of my brother embarrassing me. The thing that I noticed was that Greg was the one people should have been embarrassed of because he had not filter when he said or did things. Greg did not think before he acted, and I think most people can relate to that.

        As someone who has been through middle school, I can make a connection to the book. But elementary students have not been to middle school, so how would they know middle school is a stupid idea? Elementary students can relate to a friend or siblings embarrassing them because it happens to the best of us. When you can relate to a book, I think it makes it more personal and fun. I can see this book being something students love and get a kick out of it. But there is one think that should be at the beginning of the book, and that would be a warning for parents or teachers when they have a student or child reading this book. Why should there be a warning you may ask, well I can see students trying some of the same things Greg did, like throw a football at people or finding food on the play ground and play "cheese finger". I would defiantly let my students read this book because it just makes you smile.