Common Sense Note
There's much for parent and child to discuss here: Miss Pointy's unconventional style, Sahara's way of dealing with her problems, the rather negative view of school counselors and special ed. teachers, and lots more. Because there's so much to talk about, this would be a great book for school and parent/child literature groups.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Esmé 'aji Codell's first novel for children is not a new story: Unconventional Teacher Bucks Authority, Changes Student Lives. It has a noble pedigree, from Goodbye, Mr. Chips to Conrack to Miss Nelson is Missing. But Codell's lyrical take on it is sharply observed and poignantly funny. This is a lovely, moving book.
Miss Pointy is front and center here, but Sahara's sharp voice crackles across the page as compellingly as Miss Pointy's antics. Sahara is one of those children who doesn't say much but who thinks a lot, and who notices everything. Her sometimes caustic observations are penetrating, and her writing talent is powerful, as revealed in a climax as satisfying as the end of one of Andrew Clements' books. Secondary characters, such as Darrell, an angry boy in Sahara's class, are equally carefully delineated and three-dimensional. This may be Codell's first novel, but it is the work of an old pro, one who knows children and teachers, and the little graces of writing -- the rhythms, metaphors, insights, and turns of phrase that turn a story into a song.
From the Book:
I met with a Special Needs teacher in the hallway to get something called Individualized Attention, and let me tell you, working in the hallway with a teacher is like being the street person of a school. People pass you by, and they act like they don't see you, but three steps away they've got a whole story in their heads about why you're out there instead of in the nice cozy classroom where you belong. Stupid? Unlucky? Unloved? If I could have put out a cup I would have made some change.
Plot Summary:
Sahara loves to read and is a gifted writer. But after her father leaves, her letters to him end up in the school counselor's file, and she is placed in Special Needs. Sahara stops doing schoolwork ("I was through giving them evidence. They wouldn't get anything more out of me."). When she continues to do no work, and her mother pulls her out of the Special Needs program, she has to repeat fifth grade.
There she meets the new teacher, Madame Poitier, called Miss Pointy, who's not like any teacher she's ever met. She behaves outrageously, is contemptuous of school rules and bureaucracy, and teaches subjects such as Puzzling and Time Travel. And when she finds out that Sahara wants to be a writer, she has only one thing to say: "A writer writes."
Related Books:
More Teachers Who Make a Difference
Gruel and Unusual Punishment by Jim Arter
Stargone John by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar
Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|
|
|
Violence |
|
|
|
|
LanguageSome mild swearing. |
|
|
 |
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social BehaviorSahara doesn't do schoolwork, and one of her classmates is very rude to the teacher. |
 |
|
|
|
Commercialism |
|
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoAdults smoking and drinking is mentioned. |
 |
|
|
|
