Fiction Friday: Chapter 2

Hello friends and fellow children's literature enthusiasts!

Welcome to Week 2 of Fiction Friday, or as I like to call it Chapter 2!  

Clever, I know.  :)  Here's what I've been reading:

How Oliver Olson Changed the World 
by Claudia Mills

Oliver Olson has helicopter parents of the worst kind.  They are involved in every aspect of his life and won't let him do anything, including go to the school space sleepover, even though all the other third graders are going.  (BTW...how cool does that sound?!?) When he gets assigned a space diorama project for school, his parents start doing the whole project for him while he sits on the sidelines watching and "helping." Then, something changes.  Oliver gets a partner for the project and he begins to figure out that his ideas are pretty good.  With the help of his diorama partner, Crystal, Oliver may just find his voice and change the world!

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found myself rooting for Oliver.  I had to laugh while reading the scenes with his parents. Especially when they were going over the project rubric and discussing how they were going to get full points.   I was a bit confused as to why his parents were so neurotic about things.  The book mentions that he was sick as a child, but what kind of sick?  Was it the flu or something more serious?  His parents are so worried about germs and him getting sick again, I couldn't help but wonder what was the cause for all the paranoia. Something to ask the author, Claudia Mills, who also wrote 7 x 9 = Trouble.

A cute story and good beginning chapter book for grades 2-3. Not sure about read aloud potential.  I think it would depend on your class.

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) 
by Lisa Yee

Bobby's father used to play professional football but is now a stay at home dad. His best friend (secretly) is a girl. He wants a dog, but has allergies.  He loves rocks. He teaches his fish to do tricks with a soccer ball.  He hugs really stinky trees. He starts a feud between the boys and girls in his class. He runs for class representative and he a few issues with static cling.  Bobby is a may or may not be your typical fourth grader but either way, he's a very likable character. Although he means well, he continues to find himself in tricky situations that every 4th grader can relate too in some way.

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) is an entertaining story with a lot of heart.  It reminds me of other family and school classics by Judy Blume and Andrew Clements.  The book is fast paced with very likeable characters that model so many of the character traits we try to teach our kids like compassion, generosity, and empathy.

The author does a great job keeping the book at a 4th graders level (both style wise and plot) while weaving in great vocabulary words like indubitably! Love that! It is right at a 4th grade reading level and would easily appeal to kids in grades 3-5.  Although I wouldn't necessarily select this book as a class read aloud, I think it would make a great book for book clubs and promote a lot of discussion and good thinking.

Join our celebration of Children's Literature this week by linking up below.  

We would love to hear about any of the books you or your class have read recently or just good 'ole classics that you read year after year.  Thoughts, opinions, reviews and lesson ideas welcome.  

Don't forget to link back to me on your blog post so that we can spread the word.  

Amazon wishlist is on standby.  

I can't wait to see what y'all have been reading this week.