Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher

Imagine you are in 6th grade. Your teacher is gone and a sub is coming. The school bell rings and there is no sub. The class takes attendance and still no sub. What do you do? Karen, a natural leader in the class, goes down to the office and DOES NOTHING. Yahoo. Free day. Right? Well...not exactly. Told from the point of view of Fletcher (not the author-it's the main characters name), discover how a class handles the disappearance of their teacher and sub. Tension mounts as they try to hold class without adult supervision. From Rachel, the mute, to Bastian, the not-so-nice teaser, students get some homework done, goof around some, and fight some. Things reach a climax when they discuss the death of a student that happened in the fall learning that maybe they need to act differently toward each other.

This book has a good pace and some of the issues are resolved at the end of the novel. I like the image/metaphor of flying and how it was used throughout the story. The story reminded me of the Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea where students learn to be responsible for their actions and grieve the loss of someone. I like how Fletcher doesn't give easy answers and choices such as Bastian's choice to give his pet away as being more for his pet than because he has a generous heart. He's mean in his teasing of others and this made sense to me and made the character's choice authentic. I do think the students would have goofed around more than they did, but that's debatable. Another terrific book by Fletcher and a great read aloud.

Reading Level 5.8

:-) :-) :-) :-) 4 out of 5 Smileys

 

Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher

"Sasparilla succotash," says Uncle Billy snapping his fingers. Cliff listens as Billy makes up a story about what "yidda yadda" means. Baby Josh wants a "yidda yadda" and no one knows what it means. In Fig Pudding by Ralph Fletcher a clear picture is painted of 5th grader Cliff and his brothers and sisters. Baby Josh looks like a sickly baby with green snot running down his nose that he  constantly smears all over his face. Teddy is a terror who shouts instead of uses a regular voice. Nate pulls pranks, especially on the gullible Brad. Cyn is the only girl who spends more time with the family down the street than with her own family. And Grandma, is adored by all, and has skin like tissue paper but a grip that is still strong. When a terrible accident happens, everyone has to deal with their "bowl of sadness."

This is a great read aloud. In the beginning of the novel, each chapter stands on its own almost as a story itself. The stories are funny and poignant. The descriptions are terrific:

Teddy was wild in church, wild in school, and especially wild during the holidays. After Christmas, while Josh was still at Good Sam, Teddy started hiding people's presents and unscrewing lights on the tree. He took gobs of tinsel off and made little bird nests that he stuck back onto the tree. One day while Mom and Dad were shopping, Teddy stole baby Jesus from the manger and laughed when no one could find it. See what I'm saying? He stole Jesus and thought it was funny.

I also thought the beginning chapters were choppy. The first has Grandma as a significant character and then it shifts to a sibling and Grandma disappears. The change was abrupt. I think it would have helped if there had been something linking the chapters together in the beginning. Fletcher does tie the baking of stollen or bread to the end of the story but I think some overall theme was needed throughout. The book reminds me of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, but in that story the main character wants to be a scientist and it weaves a thread throughout all the chapters tying it together. Maybe if it had something like that? I'm no expert. What do you think?

There is a death in the story that makes it sad but it is balanced with humor and ways of dealing with grief. Terrific book.

Reading Level 4.9

:-) :-) :-) :-) 4 out of 5 Smileys

Spider Boy by Ralph Fletcher

Spider Boy is the new kid in school. He hates it. He'd rather spend time with his pet tarantula than make friends. When his science teacher pairs him with another girl in class he is forced to communicate with others. While 7th grader Bobby likes being with her, he is bothered by the fact she likes Chick Hall, a boy who has been bullying him since day 1. When Bobby catches Chick cheating on a test things escalate in a dramatic climax.

Great pacing, plot, and characters. I loved how this book incorporated nonfiction elements with fiction elements. I kept thinking of students I should recommend it too and how I had never read a book quite like it. Fletcher uses facts about spiders in each chapter as a way of explaining what is happening to the character. At first they are just facts, but as the story proceeds more personal information is sprinkled in with the facts while relating to what is happening to Bobby. For instance, when Lucky kisses him the facts are about spiders mating and when Chick attacks him the facts are about spiders predators and Bobby says how he feels about it. The bully, Chick Hall, isn't one dimensional and Lucky tries to explain that she likes Chick because he isn't boring. She doesn't acknowledge or recognize his mean streak.

Great complexity of characters and situations.

Reading Level 4.4

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 5 out of 5 Smileys

Uncle Daddy by Ralph Fletcher

River's Dad, Nelson, split from the family when he was 3 years old. He went to get pizza and, poof, he was gone. No goodbyes. No explanation. Just gone. River's mom's uncle moves in with them and provides Rivers with the love of a surrogate father. Rivers is now 9 years old and finishing 4th grade. All is well until his father shows up unannounced at the front door at River's birthday party.  Everyone is angry and life gets turned upside down as they try to deal with the long lost father who wants to come home.

This book begins by painting a picture of a loving uncle and happy boy before the tension of dad coming home shatters their calm world. Rivers is a stable, kind boy who invites the entire class to his birthday party and is willing to spend time with an annoying boy in his class, Ethan. This book is a quick read and the father explains that he was away for so long because he became addicted to drugs. I really liked the plot and how the conflicts were handled, but I had issues with some of the minor characters. I wanted to get to know Taylor more and I thought Ethan was mentally handicapped in the beginning and that was why River was being so kind to him. Then I wondered if he was ADHD, but that wasn't the case either. In the end, I just got annoyed with Ethan. I enjoyed how Uncle Daddy would say, "I'm going to cloud up and rain all over you." Wonderful images and word choices. Fun read.

This would be a good read aloud with plenty of heavy topics to discuss.

Reading Level 4.2

:-) :-) :-) 3.5 out of 5 Smileys