Thursday, February 21, 2013

Martin, Ann M. Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life.


Martin, Ann M.    Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life.    Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends   259p  $16.99  978-0-312-64299-0  2012  elem  VG-BN   Realistic Fiction    

Upper-elementary students who enjoy realistic fiction with female protagonists will appreciate this story.  Students who have read Ann Martin’s first adventure with Pearl Littlefield, Ten Rules for Living With My Sister, will especially enjoy Pearl’s new experiences and life events.  Pearl Littlefield is a fifth-grader who is struggling to complete her essay-writing assignment about her summer vacation.  For Pearl and her family, summer vacation did not go exactly as planned.  From her father getting fired from his economics job to her attending Camp Merrimac with her sister Lexie as her counselor-in-training, Pearl’s start to the summer was anything but fun.  Her time at summer camp was filled with new adventures with her best friend James Brubaker II (JBIII).  But because of her dad’s job situation, the family vacation to the wild west was replaced by a staycation sightseeing New York.  At first, these events did not thrill Pearl, but in the end, she realized that changes in plans are not always negative, and something good always comes out of them. 

The author includes Pearl’s outline for her essay at the end, but every chapter also has part of that outline and a list of things to see in New York City.

For schools that use Accelerated Reader, this title already has a quiz ready for readers (AR Quiz #155487).      

Summer Vacation-Fiction                         --Charleen Forba-Mayer

No comments: