Fish In a Tree

For anyone who is reading this blog who teaches grade 5 or 6- I would strongly suggest you go out and pick up this book immediately and be prepared to read it to your class!! This book has been on the radar for the last while, and it took a friend wanting to know what I thought of it for me to pick it up. I am so glad I did. In this story, Ally is in grade 6 and is in yet another school because her dad's job in the military requires her family to move a lot. Ally is an expert at avoiding work and getting into trouble. She has no friends because everyone thinks she is weird and the Principal is sick of seeing her in the office. Ally's family doesn't think she is a trouble maker, they can appreciate her other strengths such as drawing and her math ability. But at school, Ally just doesn't fit in. Then, when a new teacher comes to school and starts teaching Ally's class, he recognize some of Ally's strengths and believes that every child can learn, but everyone learns differently. Once one person starts believing in her, Ally discovers that school isn't such a bad place to be after all. This story is incredible for teaching or reinforcing the power of a growth mindset, having grit and the idea that everyone has something to offer. Mr. Daniel's is the type of teacher any of us who teach want to be like. We want to be able to not only recognize strengths, but to pinpoint struggles, and to know what to do to help. There is so much to do with this book, the discussions would be amazing! It reminds me a great deal of Wonder, I think reading the two books out loud would really reinforce the idea of "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind"