Fish in a Tree

Loved the topic, loved the message, and love that I won a copy of this! I did think that the characters felt much younger than sixth graders; I think the story would have felt more "right" to me if it had been set in third or fourth grade.

This is a cute story about a little girl named Ally who is amazingly smart but, cannot read. The words just seem to move on the page. All of her teachers consider her a trouble maker except for one, enter her new teacher Mr. Daniels. He takes the time to see past Ally's mistakes he reaches out to Ally to help her. Ally starts to make new friends and starts to see herself in a new light. I would recommend this book for tweens/Middle school readers.

"When my world wasn't such a heavy place. I used to love to swing as high as I could - leaning back, reaching for a bright blue sky with my feet - and it made me feel like I could do anything. Reach anything" pg. 155
"And I think of words. The power they have. How they can be waved around like a wand - sometimes for good, like how Mr. Daniels uses them. How he makes kids like me and Oliver feel better about ourselves. And how words can also be used for bad. To hurt. My grandpa used to say to be careful with eggs and words, because neither can ever be fixed. The older I get, the more I realize how smart my grandpa was" pg. 184
"I guess maybe 'I'm having trouble' is not the same as 'I can't'" pg. 197
"Things will not always be easy; sometimes we do fail. But it isn't failing that makes you a failure. It is staying down that does. The ability to stand up, brush yourself off, and try again is a huge strength. It's something that will take you very far in your life. If you develop a habit of standing up and trying again, just imagine the phenomenal things that could be in store for you." pg. 276

A must read for all teachers. Excellent!

A bit slow - but worth the read!