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thebrainlair's review against another edition
4.0
3.5. Would pair well with School Story by Andrew Clements. Could lead to discussion of what students think we should use in place of testing.
sara_hudson's review against another edition
5.0
What a great book. Bildner catches the alchemy of a close friendship, the rhythm of 5th grade, the magic of that one great teacher. All with basketball. No a-ha twist. Instead a satisfying arc that you are happy to go on.
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This is a fun book that falls on the younger end of the MG spectrum. It has a diverse class and a lot of humor.
This is a fun book that falls on the younger end of the MG spectrum. It has a diverse class and a lot of humor.
lindseythelibrarian's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Starting off the year with a book club book! We read this for Middle Grade Book Club and I am glad that we did!
We start off this book with a brief introduction to our two main characters, Red and Rip, and are then introduced to their new Language Arts teacher, Mr. Acevedo. Mr. Acevedo is fresh out of college and has a lot of thoughts about how to best instruct students--no tests, no test prep, and a whole lot of teamwork. At first, his teaching style was a bit off-putting to how I imagine a 5th-grade Lindsey would have handled her first-day jitters. However, his teaching methods prove successful as the students not only use what they learned to ace a mandated state test, they also gain some fantastic social skills like healthy ways to deal with change, working with difficult individuals, and more.
I have to say that some of the characterizations, most notably Avery, seemed a bit unrealistic. Someone so offputting to her classmates (or maybe just Rip?) seemed a bit out of pocket for someone who has attended school there her whole life.
I like how the author integrated some potentially unknown words, idioms, and sayings/proverbs into the book. Red, one of the main characters, is autistic and he has some difficulties understanding certain phrases, and oftentimes an adult or friend will explain it.
While this was by no means one of my favorite middle-grade novels I have read, I would definitely read the next one in the series.
We start off this book with a brief introduction to our two main characters, Red and Rip, and are then introduced to their new Language Arts teacher, Mr. Acevedo. Mr. Acevedo is fresh out of college and has a lot of thoughts about how to best instruct students--no tests, no test prep, and a whole lot of teamwork. At first, his teaching style was a bit off-putting to how I imagine a 5th-grade Lindsey would have handled her first-day jitters. However, his teaching methods prove successful as the students not only use what they learned to ace a mandated state test, they also gain some fantastic social skills like healthy ways to deal with change, working with difficult individuals, and more.
I have to say that some of the characterizations, most notably Avery, seemed a bit unrealistic. Someone so offputting to her classmates (or maybe just Rip?) seemed a bit out of pocket for someone who has attended school there her whole life.
I like how the author integrated some potentially unknown words, idioms, and sayings/proverbs into the book. Red, one of the main characters, is autistic and he has some difficulties understanding certain phrases, and oftentimes an adult or friend will explain it.
While this was by no means one of my favorite middle-grade novels I have read, I would definitely read the next one in the series.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
Loved promoting this at local elementary schools leading up to the 2016 Summer Reading Program (sports-themed!).
Great sports action scenes with believably passionate characters, Nice variety of perspectives in the stars of the show.
I was surprised by how much focus was on classroom teaching methods. I described it to friends as "educational escapism." It felt a little contrived, but that coulda been my personal bias. Anyway, I'm really glad there was a heavy emphasis on the sports action too.
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Great sports action scenes with believably passionate characters, Nice variety of perspectives in the stars of the show.
I was surprised by how much focus was on classroom teaching methods. I described it to friends as "educational escapism." It felt a little contrived, but that coulda been my personal bias. Anyway, I'm really glad there was a heavy emphasis on the sports action too.
Like like like!
lizwuestefeld's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE this middle grade school and sports story. Great for readers who enjoy Gordon Korman.
scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really cute book, I would have given it 5 stars but I had some issues.
I’m going to process what I want to write and come back to this.
I’m going to process what I want to write and come back to this.
froggylibrarian1's review against another edition
5.0
Okay - honest here. I looked at the cover of this and thought it would be very simple, fluff, maybe good for my younger readers but not much substance. I was pleasantly surprised.
Rip and Red have been good friends for a long time and are really looking forward to their 5th grade year. They know what to expect from their teacher, they will get to play basketball together, and they know all their classmates. But the minute they step into their classroom they are in for a big surprise. They have a new teacher who h words tests and homework. Basketball is different too - they will be playing competitive games.
Rip and Red were deeper characters than I thought they would be. Rip is not just the black kid with locks that everyone thinks he is. He read Out of My Mind ;0 His mom is a principal and there is a strong education, anti test vibe to the book ;0 Red is on the spectrum. Rip and Red's friendship is really great. Their teacher is different and that causes problems but it is inspiring to see how things work out.
I really liked this...
Rip and Red have been good friends for a long time and are really looking forward to their 5th grade year. They know what to expect from their teacher, they will get to play basketball together, and they know all their classmates. But the minute they step into their classroom they are in for a big surprise. They have a new teacher who h words tests and homework. Basketball is different too - they will be playing competitive games.
Rip and Red were deeper characters than I thought they would be. Rip is not just the black kid with locks that everyone thinks he is. He read Out of My Mind ;0 His mom is a principal and there is a strong education, anti test vibe to the book ;0 Red is on the spectrum. Rip and Red's friendship is really great. Their teacher is different and that causes problems but it is inspiring to see how things work out.
I really liked this...