Parents' Guide to

About Average

By Sally Engelfried, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Inspiring story of sixth-grader solving her bully problem.

Book Andrew Clements School 2012
About Average Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Emily E.
Emily E. Parent of 7, 9 and 12-year-old
May 4, 2023
age 12+

Not impressed

This was a book for our homeschool curriculum. Not impressed with the rude banter , snotty attitudes of the school kids . Perhaps it was the audiobook , but I don’t need my kids reading about the silly politics of the classroom , bullying , and just overall dumb behavior . The “messages” the author wants to teach aren’t enough to push through the book and silly characters that are just rude !

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Over the course of one very hot and humid day in Illinois, we meet Jordan during her last week of sixth grade. Thoughout the school year, Jordan has tried to prove that she's special, but she's come to the unhappy conclusion that she's just "about average." When she tries to think of what she's really good at, she can only cite babysitting and gardening. Being teased by \"Cuteness Club\" member Marlea only exacerbates Jordan's insecurity, until she comes up with a plan that just might stop Marlea. In the process of executing her plan, Jordan discovers new things about herself and increases her self-confidence. Jordan's story is interspersed with short chapters that focus on the local weather man's observations of changing clouds, which ultimately tie into Jordan's discovery that there's nothing wrong with being average, and there are different ways to define success.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

Once again, author Andrew Clements offers a comforting, feel-good story about a preteen who faces a problem and figures out how to solve it herself. Although ABOUT AVERAGE doesn't break new ground, it achieves its aim of offering a positive example of a girl who doesn't fit the typical profile of success and yet manages to accomplish quite a bit.

For the attentive reader, About Average will provide food for thought about how we sometimes give others the power to change how we feel about ourselves, and how it's possible to change that through our own efforts and by staying true to ourselves.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Jordan's lists of "Things I'm Good At," "Things I'm Okay At," and "Things I Stink At." Name one thing you would put on each list for yourself.

  • Has anyone has ever teased you about something? How did you handle it?

  • Have you ever had to respond in an emergency situation like Jordan did? What kind of emergency was it? What did you do?

Book Details

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