The Giver

The Giver is written by Lois Lowry. This book is about Jonas - a twelve-year-old boy who lives in a community of "sameness". Everything is safe in Jonas' life - it is all planned and in control. There is no war, no seasons, no pain and no choices when it comes to one's job, spouse, children, societal role, etc. At a ceremony, Jonas is given his "assignment", or his duty/job for which he is to fulfill for the rest of his life. While all of the other children in his twelve group are given normal jobs in the community, Jonas receives a special, rare job - he will be The Receiver. It is The Receiver's job to receive all of the memories/wisdom of years past. This job involves a lot of pain and The Receiver must be courageous and wise. The Giver, an older man who has been The Receiver for many years, trains young Jonas. Once Jonas begins his training, he realizes that this job is no ordinary job and that he has abilities that many lack. Once Jonas learns all about the past, before the period of "sameness" he feels too much and knows too much to connect to any of the identical members of his society. So The Giver convinces him to run away and leave the community to go to "Elsewhere" and leave all of the realistic, painful and sometimes beautiful memories from the past behind him in search for color, or life. He takes his baby "brother" whom his "father" nurtured, so that the baby can be spared, and he leaves, embarking on an excruciatingly difficult trek to "Elsewhere".

This book is fantastic. I read it when I was in Middle School and I believe that a lot of it went over my head - crucial details, messages and themes that made rereading it more enjoyable this time around. This book is powerful and deep - it creates vivid details in my mind and allows me to escape into another world or point in time. This book made me think and kept my mind working, keeping me hooked and wanting to turn each page as fast as I could to get to the next. I loved the many references to color - how the earlier portion of the book is colorless and neutral. Yet as the book continues, color begins to shine through, until the very end where there is color all around. The community Jonas was raised in is incredibly restrictive and depressing - yet interesting to find out about. It's fun to imagine a society so different, yet in some ways so similar, from our own. It makes the reader capable of removing themselves from normal life and placing themselves into the community. The book made me grateful for what I am free and capable of doing - I have choice. Yet it also reminded me of the restrictions still on my current life- some that seem necessary and others that seem restricting - driving ages, the ability to vote, the assumption of college, life stages from infancy to eighteen years of age, etc.

This book would be fantastic to read in 5th grade (at the way youngest) into early high school. I feel that far more would come out of this book if it were read in 8th or 9th grade versus 5th. However, I still believe that 5th graders and early Middle Schoolers would grasp certain important concepts and find themselves engaged in the book. It would be fun to work on the concept of color in this Utopian society with 5th grade students. I love art, so incorporating vivid images from the text with important themes covered would make for a fantastic, hands-on lesson. I would 100% use this book in my own classroom and will encourage my students to read it. Anyone of any age should read or reread The Giver if they have never read it before or barely remember it (as was the case with me). You will not regret it.

Arthur's Birthday

Arthur's Birthday is written and illustrated by Marc Brown. This book is about Arthur's 8th Birthday. He is so excited for his birthday party and passes out all of his invitations at school to his friends. All of his friends feel conflicted, however, when they realize that Muffy's birthday party is on the very same day! Arthur and his friend Francine want to bring all of their friends together because all of the boys have agreed to go to Arthur's and all of the girls to Muffy's so they come up with a secret plan. They invite all of the girls to Arthur's house instead for a surprise party for Muffy and then convince Muffy to come over who is surprised to see all of her friends together. Both Arthur and Muffy are happy to celebrate their birthdays together with all of their friends in one place and agree to do it next year, as well.

I love the Arthur series. It is one of my favorites to read. I chose an Arthur book this week because it is one of my favorite series and because it is going to be my own birthday in a few days, so I guess reading it this week was sort of like a treat to me. The Arthur books are so great because they always have a simple, yet relatable plot and great, detailed pictures on each page. All of the characters are familiar to readers so it's enjoyable to read about their lives and adventures.

There is always a positive message to Arthur's books that is fairly easy to get across to readers. All of the characters are relatable to elementary-aged children, as well.

Arthur books will continue to be popular well into the future with kids of all ages - I mean, I watched Arthur into my middle school years.

One Hungry Cat

This children's book is written by Joanne Rocklin and is illustrated by Rowan Barnes-Murphy. The provided math activities are by Marilyn Burns and are a level 3 (grades 1 & 2). This book is about Tom, the cat. He starts out by making twelve cookies and invites two of his friends over to share the cookies. He wants there to be an equal amount of cookies for everyone, but eats some so there is an uneven amount. He decides to make a lemon cake instead and splits the cake up into equal pieces but eats too many pieces and halves of other pieces so they are now too small to serve to his friends. With his remaining ingredients, he bakes two blueberry muffins just for his friends because he is now too full.

This book is great because it really helps kids with numbers. There is also a parent note at the beginning for how to read the book and how to engage the child in questions/comments about math as they read along. This book can be made very interactive and really gets kids minds focused on mathematics

At the back of the book there are ways to retell the story differently and various puzzles/games to engage the reader in the story. These Hello Math books are designed to get parents to read to their children, to get children to read to their parents and to get parents and children to enjoy math together. Math is a subject that many children hate, as well as many adults (myself included!). This book tries to get kids to enjoy math and to realize that it isn't so scary, but maybe even a little fun.

I think this book would be helpful to children in a one-on-one basis where an adult is focusing all of their attention on the child and asking questions through out. If a child read this book alone, they may miss some of the mathematical facts.

Froggy Gets Dressed

Froggy Gets Dressed is one book of a series written by Jonathan London and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz. This book is probably best for preschool aged children through to first or second grade. This book is about Froggy, a hibernating frog, who wakes up mid-winter ready to play in the snow. He dashes out after putting on his snow stuff but is repeatedly called back inside by his mother because he forgot to put something on. He runs back and forth taking everything off, putting everything back on again then back inside again. Lastly he forgets his underwear so his mom calls him back in but by that time, Froggy is too tired to play outside in the snow any longer so he gives up and goes back to sleep through the rest of the winter.

This book is great for young children because it teaches them how to get dressed and undressed. It also includes sound effects you read aloud as Froggy pulls various winter gear on and off (ie. zup! zat! zum!) This book contains a lot of repetition as Froggy's clothes come on and off, on and off.

This book has classicly engaging pictures, such as the ones in all of the froggy series. The pictures are colorful and detailed and are appealing to the eye. This book shows family relationships, despite the family being frogs rather than humans. Froggy Gets Dressed is fun and entertaining and sure to capture children's attentions.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

This book is written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. This story is about a police officer, Officer Buckle, and his police dog, Gloria (surprise, surprise). In this story Officer Buckle goes to various schools in Napville giving safety speeches as he has tons of safety tips he knows of. When the team gets Gloria he decides to bring along Gloria to sit next to him as he gives his speech. Unbeknownst to Officer Buckle, Gloria is acting out every safety tip he gives the children behind him! Suddenly, the children are no longer bored during his speeches but fascinated by it. Television crews come in to film Officer Buckle and Gloria and Officer Buckle cannot believe how well liked his speeches are. When he watches himself on TV that night, he realizes what Gloria is doing behind him and is embarrassed and angry. He sends Gloria to the schools alone but Gloria just sits on stage and stares at the floor sadly, eventually falling asleep - so do all of the students! After the students send letters begging Officer Buckle to return, he realizes that the most important safety rule of all is to stick with your buddy.

I remember reading this story in grade school and finding it hilarious. I loved how the silly dog would do goofy tricks behind the Officer without him knowing. The story is captivating enough and the pictures are detailed to keep us all engaged and interested in the story. This book is likely for middle to lower elementary grades due to it's simplicity - maybe up until 3rd grade.

This story contains a lot of details - each safety tip is readable on the slips of paper and you can look at the personalized notes from all of the students to Officer Buckle. This story is also relatable to all children as it is set primarily in a school. I also think most students remember sitting boredly in assemblies, wishing they were over. This story also shows how loyal and dedicated police officers are to their work and their commitment to keep everyone safe. There's a ton of great safety tips beneficial to the young students.

The Rainbow Fish

The Rainbow fish was written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister and translated by J. Alison James. This is a classic story loved by children and adults of all ages. This story is about the Rainbow fish - the loveliest fish in the sea. He has shiny, silver scales that all of the other fish admire. One day a little plain blue fish asks Rainbow fish for one of his beautiful scales and the Rainbow fish refuses and yells at the little blue fish. This little fish tells all of the other fish in the sea abut how mean and unwilling to share Rainbow fish is and soon enough, Rainbow fish found himself all alone. The Rainbow Fish gets advice from the wise octopus and decides to give a shiny, beautiful scale to each of his friends and other fish and they all are so happy. The Rainbow fish discovers that it is much more rewarding to be less beautiful but to have friends to enjoy life with than it is to be beautiful and alone.

Young children enjoy this book for its' simple story and are mesmerized by the shiny, foil stamping scales on the Rainbow fish. Older children seem to enjoy this book as well for similar, if not the same, reasons. I remember reading this book years ago and never forgot its' simple story or vibrantly beautiful pictures. This book is a classic and will remain that way due to Pfister's work. I also like the front and back end pages. The one in front has a picture of the rainbow fish with all of his shiny scales and the back end page has a picture in the same spot of the rainbow fish with only one scale and he's just as beautiful then.

This book would probably be great if it rhymed as well, but the way it is written now works just fine. I look forward to sharing this book with my young students.

The Baby-Sitters Club - Kristy's Great Idea

This graphic novel was recreated by the original writer of the series (Ann M. Martin) into this form by Raina Telgemeier. This book is about four friends - Kristy (the leader of the pack and the creator of the club), Mary Ann (the shy rule-follower), Claudia (the artsy rebel) and Stacey (the new girl). These girls form The Baby-Sitters Club and work together to take on babysitting jobs. However, a lot of issues are brought up in this book - friendships falling apart, accepting new people who are different, crushes on boys, divorced parents/new step-parents, and even Stacey's diabetes secret. This book would fall into the contemporary realistic fiction category due to it's ability to be real life today and it's focus on serious issues - diabetes and divorce. This book contains four very different main characters, which likely allows most girls reading this novel someone who they can relate to - either situationally or personally.

This book is great for maturing tweens. Girls in 5th grade would also enjoy this book, but this book would be appropriate through to middle school. This book touched on a lot of issues that middle school girls face - acting too "young", looking cool, developing crushes, following parents rules, getting in trouble at school and yes, babysitting. This book would be beneficial to young teens trying to overcome such challenges and issues that the girls face. The relatable characters would draw readers in.

The original series of these books were in novel format. This graphic novel format is really fun. It made for a quick read with tons of visuals to keep readers engaged. The drawings were simple, unrealistic and black and white, but they were still engaging, showed expression and keep one's attention on the story. This is a great recreation of a fantastic series, which has appealed to girls everywhere for years.

Alphab'art Find the Letters Hidden in the Paintings

This book is written and designed by Anne Guery and Oliver Dussutour. Each page displays the instruction for which letter to find on one page followed by the artist and name of the painting plus the year it was painted. The other side of the page has a full page size reprint of the original painting. The book goes through all 26 letters in the alphabet and it is fun to search for each letter. At the end of the book there are a few pages where the hidden letters are pointed out in a bright color. Some of them are hard to find so it's nice to have the answer page for reference. On the answer pages, there is also a description about the artist and the painting itself if one cares to get more information about the paintings.

This book is fantastic. Some young children may not be interested in art so this book gets kids engaged in the art and causes them to truly study each piece searching for the hidden letter. Then the information about the artist/piece really ties the whole book together giving kids an opportunity to get to know famous artwork. This book may be too difficult for very young children. I think it would be best for older elementary students - as young as third grade through to even high school or beyond. I loved looking for the letters and reading the information so maybe this book is interesting even through to adulthood!

This book would be great to read in an art class or in a regular classroom for a history lesson. It's creative, entertaining, interactive and tons of fun!

A Ghost Named Fred

This children's book is written by Nathaniel Benchley and illustrated by Ben Shecter. This story is about a little boy named George who goes into an old, empty house to get out of the rain. Inside this empty house is a ghost! And you guessed it - his name was Fred. Fred, however, is a very friendly ghost who has been searching for long lost treasure in the house. Both Geroge and Fred go on a search together to find this lost treasure and it is George who finally finds it as he opens up an umbrella to take with him outside - the treasure (gold coins) come spilling out! Fred is so happy and even lets George keep one gold coin as a gift.

This book is for younger children. The wording is very simple and the story is as well. Some of the illustrations are spooky but the majority of the book is not too scary as Fred ends up being a nice ghost. The pictures are simple and unrealistic but they're fun and creatively displayed - specifically with the use of color to show what is scary and what is not - some pages are almost entirely black to give us the knowledge that it is night time.

This book serves it's purpose, but is not overly exciting. I found myself pretty bored. I know I am an adult, but I still wasn't sure how well it would hold a classroom of kids attentions. If there had been more plot or more detailed pictures the story would likely have been better. There was not really a climax to the story, or not one that was strong enough. This book would still be good to read around Halloween, but I may have to keep kids quiet to pay attention!

The Berenstain Bears and The Spooky Old Tree

This book from the Berenstain Bears series is written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain. However, this book is not quite like the rest of the series because this book is part of the Bright and Early books for younger readers. The words are simpler, and the story slightly less complex. The Cat and the Hat presents this book about three young bears who go on a visit to a spooky old tree at night. While walking they encounter very spooky, scary things and places - a twisty old stair above crocodiles, a moving wall, a spooky old hall, and a great sleeping bear. After they all get the shivers from fear they sprint all the way home to their treehouse where Mama Bear is waiting for them and they are finally safe and sound.

The writing in this book is simple and easy to follow with a rhyming rhythm that is fun. The book also contain the classic Berenstain bear illustrations. I think it's a great idea to make a series more readable for beginner readers so that they too can join in on the magical Berenstain bear books that all kids know and love.

The Berenstain bears books are some of my favorites and I adored them when I was younger. These books contain just enough action and suspense and a fun enough plot to keep kids entertained. They almost all have a positive message that gets across to kids.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

This sports book was written by Phil Bildner and illustrated by Zachary Pullen. In this story Sam and his "pop" spend most of their summers at the Yankee Stadium watching The Giants play baseball. But when the Giants leave New York for San Francisco, Sam and his dad decide to boycott Yankee Stadium altogether. However, Sam really misses his quality time with his dad so he convinces him to go to Yankee Stadium again to see the Giants football time, Sam's dad is is reluctant. But he agrees to go and bonds with his son once again at Yankee Stageman and they develop a mutual love for football.

This book is great for sports fans. It dealt with a lot of details of the game and had a lot of facts. The illustrations were great - very detailed and they looked very cartoonish at the same time. The writing was both factual and readable, though this book would likely be for older children due to the wording. Each page has a lot of writing, so it might be difficult for younger children to pay attention to it. Also, there are a lot of historical and sports related facts that do drag on - at least for someone like me who knows nothing about football! All the play-by-plays got boring for me, but a sports lover would likely enjoy them.

The pictures are great, the facts are beneficial to understanding the game and many people would enjoy this book - it just wouldn't be a favorite of mine!

Boris and Bella

This spooky tale is written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Gris Grimly. This book documents the relationship between Boris Kleanitoff and Bella Legrossi - two neighbors who cannot stand one another. Bella is insanely dirty and does little to keep her house and yard in order while Boris is freakishly clean and keeps his house super clean. The two fight and fight yet when they both invite most of the same guests to their own parties - no one shows up! These two monsters decide to go to another party - the same one - and end up hitting it off and begin their monster romance.

This book is very creative and well-written. It was fun to read and I think kids would really like it! There's no kissing so most elementary-aged boys would handle the romance just fine. The story is clever and the illustrations are very quirky and unique - they provide a real somber, spooky effect to the book.

This book is engaging and most kids would likely get a kick out of it. I would certainly read this book to students or any children - especially around Halloween! It would be a great book to celebrate Halloween.

ttyl

This piece of fiction was written by Lauren Myracle. This book creatively documents the lives of three tenth grade girls - Zoe (zoegirl), Maddie (mad maddie), and Angela (SnowAngel) through instant messages. This book is definitely for older kids - middle school aged and older. These three best friends experience the ups and downs of high school - boy drama, academic troubles, cliches, teacher issues, etc.

What was the most fascinating about this book is how it is formatted. The text messages provide a creative, yet realistic writing style. Instant messaging was big when I was in high school so I found it fun to be back in that "world" and it made for a quick read. I also liked getting to know the main characters through their instant messages - it was great that I could actually feel connected to characters and get to know them given the format.

This book touched on some tough topics that were risky to discuss - the biggest being the flirtation between Zoe and her teacher. However, this topic is addressed as inappropriate and Zoe's friends make that clear. On page 188, Zoe and Angela are discussing this situation.

zoegirl: it's my fault for going to backwork all those times. i gave him the wrong idea.
SnowAngel: u don't seriously believe that, do u?
zoegirl: kinda
SnowAngel: first of all, u didn't give him the "wrong" idea, cuz up til now u've totally been crushing on him and u know it.
zoegirl: i know, which is why i feel so bad.
SnowAngel: but second of all, HE'S the grown-up. if it's anybody's fault, it's his.

This part of their conversation shed a light on the seriousness of this flirtation.

Overall, this book was fun and girls in this time of their life would relate and enjoy this book, but it would not be appropriate for elementary-aged children.

Tio Armando

This children's book is written by Florence Parry Heide and Roxanne Heide Pierce. It is illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. The main character, Lucitita, is a young girl whose Mexican-American family welcomes their great uncle into their home after his wife dies. Tio Armando, as they call their uncle, is Lucitita's favorite person in the world. She makes snowmen with him out of marshmallows and visits the hospital with him to give gifts to patients they don't know as a surprise. Tio Armando always provides the children with a lot of wisdom but everything changes when Tio Armando dies. Lucitita is very heart-broken and has to face the death of such a close loved one. But Lucitita now knows what Tio Armando had always been trying to teach her - that even though her Tio is dead, that he will always be with her and will never be gone. Lucitita also wants to carry on with the good that Tio Armando did.

This story is for kids in first grade up to third or fourth. This story is organized into months - the months that Tio Armando spends with the family. Each page has a fair amount of writing on it, so very young children would likely lose interest. The illustrations are done in watercolors and are very soft with warm colors. I think they're beautifully painted, but some kids may not find them vivid enough to hold their attention for the quantity of writing on each page.

The story covers very relevant topics to children today. This story covers a Mexican-American family dealing with death. Death is a difficult concept to grasp for young children and this book is very brave to take on such a topic and explain a child's grieving process. Any child who has experienced loss or who is curious about it would find this story relatable or engaging.

Grandfather Counts

This children's book is written by Andrea Cheng and illustrated by Ange Zhang. This story follows an Chinese-American family and their welcoming of their grandfather "Gong Gong" into their home to live with them. The main character Helen, a young girl, is nervous to see her grandfather again who speaks no English - she wonders how they will communicate. At first Gong Gong keeps to himself until one day Helen is sitting behind their house watching the train go by when Gong Gong decides to join her. Gong Gong and Helen begin to teach one another their native languages by counting in Chinese and English and they begin to form a special bond, breaking through the barriers of language.

This story would be good for kids ages 4 - 8. The story is written in a very clear way but also contains different languages, which may make the story slightly more difficult for younger children. Additionally, the story is very simple with a very undramatic climax. It may keep some children's attention, but they'd really have to be interested in the subject matter or find the material relatable to truly enjoy the story.

The subject matter could be very relatable to children who come from mixed race, bilingual families and for children who have grandparents who come to live with them. These family issues could make the book very interesting to many students.

The illustrations appear to be painted and they are detailed yet soft. Each picture tells the story and will captivate young children and likely keep them engaged.

New Shoes, Red Shoes

This children's book was written and illustrated by Susan Rollings. This book tells the story of a little girl going on a shopping trip to get new shoes with her mother. After she picks out her new, shiny, red shoes she goes to a birthday party and loves her shoes best of all!

This story reads with a nice rhythm and is a great book for beginner readers in preschool - kindergarten. Although the story seems materialistic because it focuses on shoes (of all colors and sizes!) the story contains more than it's few words describe. There are subjects hidden beneath the words that may be controversial yet relatable. Firstly, the story only follows a mother and her daughter. There is no male figure in the story. Secondly, the mother and daughter take public transportation to go on their shopping trip which could indicate that they are of low socioeconomic status or they just are living green and trying to better the environment. These factors could make the book more realistic and relatable to some students.

The illustrations are painted and very colorful. They're simplistic yet portray emotion and capture kids attention. They contain a lot of details despite their simplicity. The main character is a little girl who seems to be the same age as the students who may read this book.

The content is relatable, simple and can be read with a smooth rhythm. Most young children would enjoy this simple story.

Alfie and the Big Boys

This children's book is written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. There are many Alfie books in a series that Hughes has written. This particular story follows Alfie in Nursery School. Alfie always watches the kids in primary school through the fence while he is playing outside. One boy in particular - Ian - captivates Alfie and he wishes he could be just like him. One day while out with his mother and baby sister, Alfie sees Ian at the playground. Ian is screaming and crying for his "mum" whom he thought he lost. Alfie comforts the older child until they find his mother. After this incident, Alfie realizes that he is a pretty big boy himself. Later Ian comes to his house with his mother for tea and they all play together nicely.

This book is intended for children in preschool or early elementary school. The illustrations are very captivating - detailed and very well done. The book was clearly written by a British author as many of the words were not as familiar as American english words. The book contains a positive lesson about growing up and is very easy to read.

I'm not sure if all children would enjoy this book. There isn't really a climax as not too much happens. Additionally, some of the language would not be understandable to children here in the United States. Although the story was a bit slow, I still enjoyed reading it and think some kids would find it interesting - particularly the illustrations. I'm surprised this book is one of a series as Alfie's character wasn't really developed, but I have yet to read the other books in the series so I'll have to save my judgment until then.

The Best Time to Read

This book is co-written by authors Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom and illustrated by Michael Garland. This book tells the simple story in first person of a young boy who has just learned how to read. He is excited to share his new reading ability with his family! He tries to read to his mother and father but they're too busy. He tries to read to his sisters and his brother but they're too busy too! He tries to read to his grandma and grandpa, but they are also too busy to listen. Lastly, he tries to read to his dog, who also refuses to listen. Hurt, the little boy retires to his bedroom where he begins to read to his stuffed animals. As he is reading his entire family comes into his room finally able to listen to him read a story.

This book is great for kids in Kindergarten through to second grade because these are the ages where kids are learning how to read or working on reading more proficiently. This story is very relatable to kids because they've probably often wanted to read to a family member but have been unable to given how buys everyone is. Or kids know what it's like to want something to happen, but become frustrated when no one has time for you. This book is easy to read and rhymes, which makes it fun. The story is simple, yet encouraging.

The illustrations in this picture book are very cool and unique. They look digital, but I am unsure. They are very modern and look like graphics in a pixar movie. Each page is filled with details and things to look at and the pictures are very colorful.

DIARY of a Wimpy Kid

This children's chapter book is written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. The "DIARY of a Wimpy Kid" series has become rapidly popular and even made The #1 New York Times Bestseller list. The series consists of 4 books currently, with a 5th book coming out this year in 2010. The book I read is the first of the series. This story follows Greg Heffley and his adventures in Middle School - a period of three years I think most of us would love to forget. Greg journals all about his life - his school life, home life and social life. He writes just as a Middle School student would write and he touches on topics that most of us dealt with during that period of our life - bullies, homework, getting into trouble, rules, sibling rivalry, friendship, crushes, embarrassment, etc. This story follows one school year from start to finish and follows the ups and downs of Greg's life.

I think this book is great because of how relatable it is to kids. Greg is dealing with exactly what they are and Greg shares a lot of similar opinions and thoughts with Middle School aged kids. The formatting is easy to follow and comprehend. Each page looks like the lined paper of a notebook and greg draws a picture of what he writes about on almost every page. The writing is full of humor and makes for a quick read. Students I have worked with in the schools or who I've babysat for, all rave about this book. Because these books came out well past my Middle School years, I thought I definitely needed to find out what I was missing and see if all of these kids are right and they are - it was enjoyable to read and really funny!

I do see a few things with this book that could cause some concern to certain people. For one, this book is about a pre-teen and that means he's thinking about girls and goofing off in school and not doing his homework. This book documents the irresponsibility and immaturity a lot of Middle School boys exhibit during this period of their lives. Some parents and teachers may find that this material only encourages such behavior (ie. talking back to teachers/parents, taking advantage of friends, caring obsessively about popularity, etc.). However, these things happened before this book came out too. Whether this book is out there or not, Middle School kids will continue with some of that behavior. The positive thing about this is that kids will realize they're not alone and that most kids feel this way. Additionally, Greg usually faces the negative outcomes of what his poor choices bring him.

One thing that does concern me is the age level that should read this book. I think fourth grade me even be a little young for this book, but this book is somewhat inappropriate for third grade students and below. This book is certainly appropriate for fifth graders and students in Middle School, but if this book were in an Elementary School library, kids much younger could get their hands on it.

Overall, this book was well-written, an entertaining read, funny and was written in an interesting format. I really enjoyed it and can see why kids do too. I may just have to check out the other books in the series, as well...

http://www.wimpykid.com/