Mayfield Book Blab » School Fiction

The Report Card by Andrew Clements May 13, 2010

Posted by jcarlson in : Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , add a comment

Have you ever thought grades and tests were a bad way to measure how smart you are? Well, Nora the main character thinks so. To prove what she means she gets bad grades. Which makes her parents, the school and her teachers set out to find out why she is doing this. Nora tells the librarian and her friend about her plan but no one else.

To know the rest you should read this book and find out if people will realize what she is doing and if her plan worked!

I liked this book because it was interesting and showed the importance of standing up for yourself.

~Kasturi, Fourth Grader~

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements April 7, 2010

Posted by jcarlson in : Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 4comments

Abby doesn’t like doing schoolwork, and she’s about to fail sixth grade. She makes a deal with her teachers that she will do all of her homework for the rest of the school year, get B’s on all the tests and quizzes, and do an extra credit project. Her project: find a pen pal in another country, share the letters with her classmates, design a bulletin board, and give a final report. Abby begins exchanging letters with Amira in Afghanistan. Or is Amira’s brother Sadeed really Abby’s pen pal? Read this realistic book to find out what happens when Abby tries to get extra credit and the traditions of two countries clash.

~Mrs. Carlson~

Stink, The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald January 5, 2010

Posted by jcarlson in : Beginning Chapter Books, Humorous Fiction, School Fiction , 2comments

Stink is Judy Moody’s brother. Whether you’ve read any Judy Moody books or not, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s very funny. Stink is in second grade, and he’s worried that he’s shrinking. He’s already the shortest kid in the class! So he tries spiking his hair and wearing vertical stripes. Nothing works, though. He’s just plain short. When he has to explain what Presidents’ Day means to him, he writes a report on the fourth president of the United States, a very short man. Do you know who he is? I’m not telling. You can read the book to find out.

~Mrs. Carlson~

Horrible Harry and the Green Slime by Suzy Kline December 6, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Beginning Chapter Books, Humorous Fiction, School Fiction , 1 comment so far

Harry is a funny boy who often has horrible ideas. His best friend Doug tells about all the crazy things that happen when Harry is around. In this book, Harry leads a secret mission to place cobwebs all over the school, shows the class how to make green slime, and writes a “deadly skit” for some of his classmates to perform. If you’re just starting to read chapter books and want a good laugh, try any of the Horrible Harry books.

~Mrs. Carlson~

The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney December 2, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Animal Fiction, School Fiction , 4comments

Humphrey is a hamster, and he’s the narrator of this book! He lives in Room 26 of Longfellow School. Room 26 is filled with interesting students like Raise-Your-Hand-Heidi and Repeat-That-Please-Richie. Humphrey enjoys watching the students and the staff. Each weekend one of the students or staff members takes him home. Humphrey discovers that each family has a problem or challenge to face. He uses his wisdom and kindness to help them.

I really like this book. Humphrey is funny, sweet and very smart. He helps the children and adults with their problems by showing them how to help themselves. Humphrey reminds me a bit of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle from the book by the same name by Betty MacDonald. Just like Humphrey, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle helps children. In this case, the children have bad habits like refusing to take a bath and never picking up toys. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle gives the parents advice on how to get rid of these bad habits.

If you like hamsters and school stories, you will enjoy this book. You may also want to try Friendship According to Humphrey, Adventure According to Humphrey, Surprises According to Humphrey, and Trouble According to Humphrey.

~Mrs. Carlson~

Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements June 6, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 7comments

A good example of a book to recommend to your friends is Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade. This is a story about a few girls named Jenny, Diane, and Sharon trying to survive the “unfair” fifth grade. While these girls are struggling to do so, an unfamiliar disruption comes. This disruption is a fat new girl named Elsie Edwards. When Elsie first came to the new school, she did many bad things like getting into big trouble by taking other people’s unhealthy foods while being on a strict diet, stealing the class’s lunch and book club money to buy candy, and more. But soon Jenny (the main character) finds out about Elsie’s troubles outside of school like having a mom that hates you just because you’re fat and maybe having to go to boarding school. Jenny also notices that Elsie is actually nice and starts becoming her friend. When the two girls are friends, Jenny starts to get some of her friends to be Elsie’s friend, and soon Elsie is not hated anymore (but some of the boys still don’t like her)! Soon many people start to help Elsie behave and get slimmer so her mom would’t have to send her to boarding school. At the end, Elsie doesn’t have to go to boarding school and everyone is happy (especially Jenny and Elsie)!

~Victor, fifth grader~

Jenny and her friends are trying to survive 5th grade when a big disruption comes! The new fat, blonde, smart girl comes to Mrs. Hanson’s class just when things are getting better. No one wants the new girl Elsie in the class because she’s such an embarrassment to everyone in the class. Ever since Elsie came to their class everyone has been making fun of her and weird things have been going on. Jenny and her friends were also one of those people who made fun of Elsie, but when Jenny isn’t doing so great in school she asks Elsie to help when Jenny realizes Elsie is a really good person. Elsie’s mother starts to hate her because Elsie is so fat, but Elsie’s mother spoils her other younger daughter Robyn. Jenny helps Elsie go on a diet and do better in behavior so she won’t have to go to boarding school. Jenny and Elsie become good friends and Elsie can stay with her new best friend.

~Jackie, Fifth Grader~

I think this was a good book, and I would recommend it to a friend. It is a story about a new girl who comes to school and is overweight and is made fun of. The main character (Jenny) is not good at math and needs help with it. In the book, Elsie the new kid is asking people for their desserts and the teachers catch her, and she starts stealing lunch money. Jenny hates her and calls her a thief until she finds out about her life and her mom and that she’s going to go to boarding school. They both agree that NOTHING’S FAIR IN FIFTH GRADE!

~Brian, Fifth Grader~

There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar May 14, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Friendship Fiction, School Fiction , 7comments

At Red Hill School, fifth grader Bradley Chalkers was a very big bully! He gets bad grades, has no friends, and sits in the last seat, last row. A new kid Jeff arrives at the school and wants to be friends with Bradley until some trouble comes when Bradley gets a black eye. The new school counselor Carla Davis tries to help Bradley with his problems. While Carla is helping Bradley with his problems, Bradley makes friends and gets invited to a birthday party! But something bad happens to Carla and things don’t go that well with Bradley and her. Bradley wishes he could still see Carla, but he knows that they will never forget each other!

~Jackie, Fifth Grader~

Nothing But the Truth by Avi January 29, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Realistic Fiction, School Fiction , 6comments

Philip Malloy, a ninth grader, is failing English class and is ineligible for the track team. His English teacher, Mrs. Narwin, is also his homeroom teacher. To aggravate her, in hope of being moved to a different homeroom, Philip hums the national anthem. Because the school requests that students “stand at respectful silent attention” during the playing of the national anthem each morning, Philip is asked to stop. After refusing, he is sent to see the principal. After repeating the same offense, Philip is suspended for two days. A rumor begins that Philip is suspended for singing the national anthem. The whole episode gets blown out of proportion, and Philip changes schools. The book’s ending is quite a shock.

I liked the author’s format. He uses dialogues, memos, letters, and journal entries. I also enjoyed the plot which showed how events can get twisted as stories are shared. Avi, the author, brings that out in great detail. His use of a surprise ending makes for a great story.

~Mr. Hughes~

Hank Zipzer: The Zippity Zinger by Henry Winkler January 12, 2009

Posted by jcarlson in : Humorous Fiction, School Fiction , 2comments

In this book, Hank Zipzer is playing catch with his grandpa, Papa Pete, but something is different about his throwing: instead of just falling to the ground, the ball went right into the center of Papa Pete’s mitt. Hank was on fire, so his friends, Frankie Townstand and Ashley Wong, ask him to be on the Yellow softball team. He says no. Hank thinks his amazing throwing is because of his sister’s lucky monkey socks (which he accidentally put on to play catch), and his sister needs them too! Can Hank make a comback and pitch for his team? Read to find out!