Sunday, February 7, 2010

Leaving Fletchville by Rene Schmidt


This book is a Red Maple nominee for 2010. I pulled it off my shelf the other day when my 13 year old nephew asked me for a book to read. I quickly read it before I gave it to him and I'm glad I did.

Brandon is a boy in grade 7 who is tough. He comes from a good family, but he doesn't care about school or grades or being popular. He isn't stupid, but it is too much work to really care about all that stuff. What Brandon is really good at is watching and learning about people.

When Leon and his family move into his apartment building, Brandon is curious about them. First of all, they are the only black family in Kingsville, Ontario. Secondly, Leon works a lot, even though he is only 13 years old. Also, when Leon is picked on or teased for being black, instead of fighting back, he walks away. This makes Brandon even more curious because for him, fighting always comes first.

As Brandon gets to know Leon and his family, he learns about himself, what makes a family and whats really important in life.

I love the messages in this book, there are so many great teachable moments. I think this is a great book for boys, Brandon is very likeable and watching him deal with the different situations in the book kept me reading.

4 comments:

  1. this book was awsome it is great for kids.

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  2. it was delightful. It tickled me in a place that i havent been tickled before. Thanks for the experience

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  3. I loved it a great red maple book. Hope it wins

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  4. i really loved reading this book now i get to wrike a 5 paragraph essay on it yuk

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