Everyday Lessons
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • For Teachers
    • Start Here >
      • Literate
      • Numerate
      • Curious
      • Kind
      • Healthy
      • Technology in the Classroom >
        • Digital & Media Literacy
  • For Parents
    • Learning At Home
    • Great Apps & Websites
    • Help! My Child is Struggling in School >
      • First Steps to Take When Your Child is Struggling
  • Book Reviews

#IMWAYR - The Goldfish Boy

12/4/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The problem with working at a middle school is that I read far fewer picture books than I used to and YA novels take a lot longer to finish than a stack of picture books. So my It's Monday What Are You Reading? posts are harder to fill up with a multitude of books (and may not be exactly on time...). Hopefully you will be content with one good review a week (and hopefully I can read one good book a week!). That, or I can review any of the Harry Potter series, as my daughters are obsessed and that is all we are reading at home these days!

This week's non-HP read was recommended last week by Carrie Gelson over at There's a Book for That. The Goldfish Boy intrigued me right away; it fit perfectly with the stream of books I have been reading lately about kids with differences (see this post). As I walked in to my school library the next day, there it was, sitting on the New Arrivals shelf just asking to be read. So I did. 

Picture
The Goldfish Boy (Lisa Thompson) - Perfect for the middle years, this book explores many of the same topics as Wonder - difference, kindness, understanding. The main character has OCD and anxiety, conditions which have trapped him in the house in recent years until a missing child begins to draw him back out into the world. At first, I struggled with the pretense - I mean, who doesn't seek help for their struggling child long before it gets to the point where they are cooped up in the house with crippling anxiety? But the more I read, the more I realized how these parents were probably like most parents - hoping for the best, unsure of how to deal with the worst. This family is much like many of the families I deal with on a daily basis - the struggling teen who believes that he can cope with it himself, the well-meaning but frustrated dad, who believes that this is something his son just needs to try harder to snap out of and the overwhelmed and uncertain mom, knowing that something is wrong but lacking the knowledge and support to do much about it. Unlike many books about struggling kids, where the parents are super accepting and understanding, this family might actually strike a chord for many young readers. For anyone who has ever lived on a cul-de-sac (me!) the portrayal of how everyone on the small street knows everyone else's business is very familiar as well. This book is well-paced, moving slowly but not too slowly, towards the climax and not so overloaded with detail that young or weaker readers will miss important parts of the story. I would pair this book with Wonder, The Honest Truth (Dan Gemeinhart), Out of My Mind (Sharon Draper) and Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli) for a powerful lit circle about differences.

Any other books in this same vein you'd recommend?

Picture
0 Comments

    Welcome!

    I'm Bryn, teacher, mom, book lover, athlete. I am passionate about living life with my family, teaching and learning something new all the time. I hope you find something that speaks to you here on my blog and would love to hear from you too!

    Categories

    All
    30 Day Challenge
    Boys
    Close Reading
    Collaboration
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Daily 5
    Early Literacy
    For Parents
    For Teachers
    Freebies
    French Immersion
    Global Issues
    Goal Setting
    Holidays
    Homework
    IMWAYR
    Interactive Notebooks
    Kindergarten
    Learning At Home
    Lit Pit
    Math
    Mentorship
    Middle
    Motivation
    Organizing Your Classroom
    Perspective
    Primary
    Professional Development
    Provocations
    Racism
    Reading
    Reflective Teaching
    SEL
    Teachers Pay Teachers
    Teaching Mantras
    Technology
    The Importance Of Language
    The Newness Of It All
    Tough Conversations
    University Courses
    Writing

    Archives

    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    October 2013

    Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth - TeachersPayTeachers.com

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from verchmarco (CC BY 2.0), alex_why, wuestenigel, s.schmitz, mrkrndvs, Sean MacEntee, rweait-osm, hstower, wuestenigel, MPD01605, grongar, momsworking01, wwarby, William Hook, CJS*64, mrsdkrebs, Brett Jordan, Wade Rockett, quinn.anya, Infomastern, debaird™, ksunderman, csakkarin, verchmarco, Neil Tackaberry, John Brighenti, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), mikecogh, simplyalex, smaedli, TomMartinArt, Wonder woman0731
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • For Teachers
    • Start Here >
      • Literate
      • Numerate
      • Curious
      • Kind
      • Healthy
      • Technology in the Classroom >
        • Digital & Media Literacy
  • For Parents
    • Learning At Home
    • Great Apps & Websites
    • Help! My Child is Struggling in School >
      • First Steps to Take When Your Child is Struggling
  • Book Reviews