Nothing like a snow day to inspire snuggling up with a book. I know that I will be unhappy in June, but this morning, being able to stay in bed and read Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt felt pretty decadent. Mel Swider wrote about this book in her post about Growth Mindset. She was lucky enough to read an ARC copy of it a while ago. The rest of us can buy it now, as this long awaited book was released on February 5, 2015.
Ally, a sixth-grader, has moved around a lot and has managed to hide her difficulties with reading. However, her new teacher, Mr. Daniels who reminds me of Mr. Falker in Patricia Palacco's Thank you, Mr. Falker (these two books would make a wonderful pairing!), picks right up on Ally's struggles. He not only helps her learn to he read, but he also helps her recognize and value her strengths, educating the entire class about dyslexia. Reading this book as a class read aloud would inspire many questions and conversations about learning difficulties that could lead to greater understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of the assorted intelligences we all have. The lessons, messages, and themes in Fish in a Tree go much further, though. The text is simple, but the conversations and insights about human behavior are complex. Lynda Mullaly Hunt weaves in many pearls of wisdom and expressions to remember. Many of her characters are prototypical and Ally's grandfather was particularly insightful about the world. Ally remembers him telling her
"to be careful with eggs and words, because neither can ever be fixed." (p. 185, ARC copy) I can't wait to use this line, as it is not one that I've heard before!
Happy reading!
I've been hearing so many good things about Fish in a Tree. I definitely want to read it. Enjoy your snow day! So far this winter we've escaped the worst of the snow.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an important book for teachers to read! I'm hoping it will be passed around and read by my of my Children's Lit students. I agree that this would be a terrific read-aloud and lead to rich conversation. Love your point about simple text and complex discussion. We were just talking about this last week on Twitter in my #yalitclass, wondering why so many high school teachers seem to think that complex thinking only emerges from hard text.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about this today, Melanie. I'm looking forward to reading this at some point, but have a huge stack of other books to get through first. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your day. I didn't clean at all, just some laundry. Writing is on the agenda for tonight :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, how I loved this book! And now it's a hit in my classroom, too - joy!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about this book. I have read many rave reviews, but didn't really know much about it yet. It sounds like a wonderful read aloud.
ReplyDeleteSo funny, Melanie, I read the book all day yesterday, and used the same quote in my review! What a wonderful time reading! It doesn't fit my own class but I'll definitely share with those who teach slightly younger kids.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for Fish In a Tree to arrive from the library, but from all the great buzz I'm hearing, I think I should just purchase it.
ReplyDeleteHi there Melanie. Very glad to read more detailed thoughts about Fish in a Tree - you may also want to check out Margarita Engle's The Wild Book - it tackles the same themes in verse. :)
ReplyDelete