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90th out of 250 books
—
286 voters
Sahara Special
For use in schools and libraries only. Laugh-out-loud dialogue and unforgettable characters distinguish Codell's debut novel about a talented but troubled student and the inspiring teacher whose belief in her changes her life.
192 pages
Published
(first published April 1st 2003)
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Jan 26, 2009
Barbara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all parents and teachers of under-achieving students.
Shelves:
fiction-children,
education-homeschooling
..the main character is the one who changes. (From Sahara Special spoken by Madame Poitier AKA Miss Pointy)
If the quote is applied to this book, we'd almost have to say that it has more than one main character, though it is written from the point of view of only one -- Sahara Jones. You might say that this book is several stories within a single story, and the teacher, "Miss Pointy," tells most of them. She is the inspiration and the catalyst for the changes in her multicultural students' lives....more
If the quote is applied to this book, we'd almost have to say that it has more than one main character, though it is written from the point of view of only one -- Sahara Jones. You might say that this book is several stories within a single story, and the teacher, "Miss Pointy," tells most of them. She is the inspiration and the catalyst for the changes in her multicultural students' lives....more
Well the protagonist in this book is Sahara. This book mostly takes place at Sahara's school. The antagonist is not a person but it is Sahara's beleif. Sahara beleives that she need special ed class mostly because her mother thinks that she need it to hide the fact that Sahara is just a lazy girl.Like on page one, Sahara's mother argues with her teachers to be in a special ed class "Sahara does need this class, it will be the only way that she would pass" Sahara's teachers beleive in Sahara so...more
I absolutely loved this book. It brought out so many emotions. Sahara was such a dynamic character. I loved the way Esme never really ascribed her a race, it made it so that any child could see themselves as being like her. At points in the story personally I thought she was one race but them something she said would make me second guess it. It didn't matter what her race was but I think it was deliberate by Ms. Codell. I was first exposed to this book over the summer in one of my classes, my te...more
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Sahara is going through the fifth grade - again. Her mother elected to have her repeat the fifth grade instead of staying in special services in sixth grade, and Sahara is worried. What if her teacher doesn't like her, or thinks that she's stupid? Everything changes the day Miss Pointy walks into the room. Wild, eclectic, and tons of fun, she encourages her students to be whatever and whoever they want to be - especially Sahara. Maybe Sahara can fulfill her dream of becoming a writer, with Miss...more
Let me start by saying that I re-read this awesome book back in 2006 as part of the investigations I did for my Masters thesis paper. At the time I was exploring the issue of how works of grade-level fiction that will encourage at-risk learners to become life-long readers while achieving grade-level benchmarks.
Next...I just want to say that this was one of my favorites amongst those books I considered for my research! This is is an uplifting story that demonstrates how schools and individual tea...more
Next...I just want to say that this was one of my favorites amongst those books I considered for my research! This is is an uplifting story that demonstrates how schools and individual tea...more
Codell, E.R. (2003). Sahara special. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
Summary:
Sahara Jones (also known as Sahara Special) was taken out of special education by her single mother and put into the mainstream classroom. Her ambition is to be a writer, and her new teacher, Miss Pointy, is an unprincipled, original, and unique teacher, who helps Sahara to learn about her classmates, her writing, and herself.
Reviews/Awards:
School Library Journal 10/1/2004
Voice of Youth Advocate 12/1/2003
Horn Bo...more
Summary:
Sahara Jones (also known as Sahara Special) was taken out of special education by her single mother and put into the mainstream classroom. Her ambition is to be a writer, and her new teacher, Miss Pointy, is an unprincipled, original, and unique teacher, who helps Sahara to learn about her classmates, her writing, and herself.
Reviews/Awards:
School Library Journal 10/1/2004
Voice of Youth Advocate 12/1/2003
Horn Bo...more
I respect Esme Raji Codell. She is a fabulous teacher and writer. Sahara Special was a sweet story about how a hardworking, creative, witty, and innovative teacher can bring the best out in her students. It reminded me of Esme's autobiographical story Diary of a Teacher's First Year, and while I thought there were parts of that autobiography that were "cocky", more power to her if she could extract the quality work from her students that she did.
In the novel, Sahara Special, Sahara was in "spec...more
In the novel, Sahara Special, Sahara was in "spec...more
Sahara was deemed the nick name "Sahara Special" when her school counselor classified her as a special needs student; however, she has the potential to be an amazing student. She reads and writes at the library every day. She just lost all motivation to do her school work when her father left her and her mother. Because of this, Sahara's mother, and entire fifth grade refer to her as “Sahara Special.” This perception changes when Miss Pointy, the new fifth grade teacher, comes and changes the pr...more
Sahara may be struggling in school, but she is not dumb! After some letters she wrote (privately) to her father are found by her teacher, Sahara is started on “special” classes out in the hallway. This is where she gets her new embarrassing nickname “Sahara Special”, and the start of a rough fifth grade school year ensues. After being held back, Sahara is surprised to see that this new year, still in the fifth grade, she has a brand new teacher, Ms. Poitier who all the kids call “Ms. Pointy”. Ms...more
This was recommended by one of my professional friends with great taste in young adult novels who, yet again, suggested a delightful book in "Sahara Special."
As a teacher, I found myself 'mental-noting' so much of Miss "Pointy's" personality and wishing that I could be as witty and confident as she is; maybe by the end of my career I'll come a little bit closer.
I like how the book is told from Sahara's perspective, a 5th grader who is so insightful and so innocent in her observations. She always...more
As a teacher, I found myself 'mental-noting' so much of Miss "Pointy's" personality and wishing that I could be as witty and confident as she is; maybe by the end of my career I'll come a little bit closer.
I like how the book is told from Sahara's perspective, a 5th grader who is so insightful and so innocent in her observations. She always...more
Sahara is not only called special by her mother, but the whole 5th grade. The school counselor has a file stating Sahara needs special help. While Sahara is an incredible girl, and reads books more than she inhales oxygen, she has lost all motivation to do her work since her father left when she was 3rd grade. Because of this, the school has labeled her “special”, leading her classmates to refer to her as “Sahara Special.” This all changes when the 5th grade class gets a new teacher, Miss Pointy...more
Sahara has been labeled as a special needs child because of how her emotional state interferes with her ability to do work at school. She spends her time at the library and loves books. She writes and hides her work in the back of the stacks at the library. She's writing her "Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures". When her mom takes her out of "special attention" she fails and has to repeat 5th grade. A new teacher arrives, "Miss Pointy" and things begin to change. This book was re...more
Oct 03, 2012
Hana
added it
I think that this book was really great. I finished and it started off with a girl that didn't talk, and she was in Special Ed, but her mom told forced her teachers to put her in a normal class. Sahara is supposed to be in 6th grade, but she got left back. The only thing good about this is when she's with her best friend/cousin Rachel, because Rachel is in her class. She has a kid named Darrel in her class, and he's a really mean and weird kid. Sahara has a really creative, funny teacher. Her na...more
Sahara’s last name isn’t really “special” but that’s what some of the kids call her ever since she was put in Special Needs. Her mom puts her foot down and says she’d rather have Sahara stay back a year than be in Special Needs, so Sahara ends up in fifth grade once again, with a strange but wonderful new teacher named Miss Pointy. Slowly, Sahara starts to see another meaning for the nickname “Sahara Special”. In the book, Sahara’s disability is never really diagnosed and I think this lack of cl...more
Disclaimer -- I am NOT a Codell fan...I found her memoir irritating to the max. That said, Mrs. Pointy is Esme, in all her glory. Flaunting rules, being rude for effect, flamboyant beyond belief. I see this book as Codell's love letter to herself and her unconventional know-it-all attitude about education. Did I mention, I'm not a fan?
That rant aside, Miss Pointy is exactly what Sahara needs at this moment in her life...what Darrell needs too. She shakes up the typical school environment, she fo...more
That rant aside, Miss Pointy is exactly what Sahara needs at this moment in her life...what Darrell needs too. She shakes up the typical school environment, she fo...more
May 15, 2013
Heather
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
tween readers
Shelves:
libr-264-tweens-9-13-age-group
Sahara’s dad was gone and never coming back. She was heartbroken over her parent’s divorce, so she started to act out in school, resulting in the creation of her infamous file. No longer doing any school work, Sahara started to meet with a special need’s teacher for individualized attention. Sahara’s mom felt she was smart enough, so she convinced the principal to treat Sahara like any other student, therefore she should be held back and taken out of the Special Ed classes. Now, Sahara was repea...more
Read this for our Pageturners book club. Loved it! Sahara is a bit of Harriet the Spy and Ramona, but also has a lot of her own voice. We watch her grow in her understanding of herself, her friends and her classmates.
The only thing is I would like to read more about Sahara. She had to share the spotlight in this book a great deal with the equally fun character Ms. Pointy - her teacher. I really loved the way Ms. Pointy incorporated Journaling and storytelling in her classroom in a way that helpe...more
The only thing is I would like to read more about Sahara. She had to share the spotlight in this book a great deal with the equally fun character Ms. Pointy - her teacher. I really loved the way Ms. Pointy incorporated Journaling and storytelling in her classroom in a way that helpe...more
I. adored. this. book. Thank you, Esme Raji Codell, for writing it. Beautiful.
Sahara Special shines of Esme through and through. I first encountered Codell when I read Educating Esme, her memoir of her first year teaching, and loved her sassy teacher attitude. Esme is a teacher like no other, as is Miss Pointy, the fabulous teacher in this novel. Sahara Special is the story of 5th-grade repeat Sahara Jones, labeled "special ed" after her father left her 2 (3?) years prior to the novel's beginnin...more
Sahara Special shines of Esme through and through. I first encountered Codell when I read Educating Esme, her memoir of her first year teaching, and loved her sassy teacher attitude. Esme is a teacher like no other, as is Miss Pointy, the fabulous teacher in this novel. Sahara Special is the story of 5th-grade repeat Sahara Jones, labeled "special ed" after her father left her 2 (3?) years prior to the novel's beginnin...more
Esme Raji Codell has been one of my heroes for the last few years. I love her writing, I love her website "PlanetEsme," I love that she shares her teaching experiences so freely. I also suspect that I love "Sahara Special." The story is poignant and inspiring. It reminds me the difference a loving adult can make in the world of a child. It reminds me that my perspective of the world is not how younger people might envision it. It reminds me how important reading is to someone who feels they have...more
Really enjoyed this story of a quiet, lonely girl who learns to share herself with the world because of a teacher. I wish I could have been that kind of a teacher. I'm too straight-laced and serious and too, too sincere to be unconventional and daring as this teacher was (modeled after the author herself as portrayed in her book "Educating Esme"). Some great quotes in this book! I'm just savoring the story, but I could go back and evaluate all the locked and hidden things in the book: her letter...more
It takes a dedicated, patient, and passionate teacher to find the specialness in every student. Sahara Special is the story of one such teacher, Miss Pointy, and her class of urban, street-wise fifth graders. Sahara Jones has been held back and is repeating fifth grade after being pulled out of class and labeled 'special needs'. But, this second time around in fifth grade turns out to be a magical and wonderous learning adventure. Miss Pointy listens and guides, instructs and learns, and taps in...more
"Sahara Special" was an intriguing young adult literature book. The story of a fifth grader who is labeled as a "special needs" child and the triumphs she endures in the classroom was amazing. The book is filled with wit and laughter, pain and criticism. Sahara is being held back in fifth grade, nervous and self-conscious, she makes the most of everyday. The new teacher, Ms. Potty, as she is often referred to, is bound and determine to not let these children fail but exceed further than they eve...more
Sahara Special:
Not The Desert, The Girl
Sahara‘s life is about to change, she just doesn’t know it. The book Sahara Special, by Esme Raji, is realistic fiction because the events that occur in it could easily occurs in someone’s real life and the characters are very well portrayed. Sahara Special is about a girl named Sahara and her journey through her second time in fifth grade. The book takes place in modern day Chicago, Illinois. The main characters are Sahara, Miss Pointy, Darrell, Rachel,...more
Not The Desert, The Girl
Sahara‘s life is about to change, she just doesn’t know it. The book Sahara Special, by Esme Raji, is realistic fiction because the events that occur in it could easily occurs in someone’s real life and the characters are very well portrayed. Sahara Special is about a girl named Sahara and her journey through her second time in fifth grade. The book takes place in modern day Chicago, Illinois. The main characters are Sahara, Miss Pointy, Darrell, Rachel,...more
SUMMARY: Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell is about a young girl, Sahara, who is held back in the fifth grade because she does not do her work and does not want to be in the Special Needs class. However, this year there is a new fifth grade teacher, Miss Pointy. Using journals, Miss Pointy helps all of the children come out of their shells, including Sahara, giving them all a year to remember.
CRITIQUE: The book Sahara Special fits under its genre, realistic fiction, because it could happen to...more
CRITIQUE: The book Sahara Special fits under its genre, realistic fiction, because it could happen to...more
Sahara is not inspired in school and does so poorly that her principle puts her in special ed. Sahara’s mother does not want Sahara in special ed because of the teasing that ensues from it and puts her back in a regular classroom. While everyone believes Sahara will fail again, her new teacher disagrees. Through creative teaching tools and strategies, Ms. Potier helps Sahara and her classmates flourish.
This is a quick and hilarious read. The journal entries and fantasy sequences in the book hel...more
This is a quick and hilarious read. The journal entries and fantasy sequences in the book hel...more
This book, although clearly not a vampire or horror, is a book that will pull at your heart strings. I could not put it down. If you have a child or work in a school or even know of a child who is special...this is a must read. Or...know of a child's whose home life is not the best...read this. Just read, it'll make you think differently about so many things in your life, of a child's life and make you appreciate the little things, it'll make you appreciate...things that you never thought, matte...more
Jun 15, 2009
Kate
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone, especially teachers and students
Recommended to Kate by:
One of my all time favorite teachers
Shelves:
young-adult
People from my class would hiss, "Hi Sahara Special" as they passed to go to the washroom, and don't think they meant special like a princess or a movie star or something sparkly like that."
From the beginning to the end, this book was a really great read. I liked Sahara Jones a lot and loved the essay she wrote in her journal on the meaning of her name. It was so moving. I also loved Miss Pointy. She's a fantastic teacher and motivated all the children to learn by telling lessons as stories and...more
From the beginning to the end, this book was a really great read. I liked Sahara Jones a lot and loved the essay she wrote in her journal on the meaning of her name. It was so moving. I also loved Miss Pointy. She's a fantastic teacher and motivated all the children to learn by telling lessons as stories and...more
Just by looking at its cover (¨Sahara Special¨), I though that is was going to be about a ¨special girl, however, this funny, warm and tender story about a girl who is really ¨Sahara Jones¨. She is going thru fifth grade and after she opened her locker a bunch of unsent letter to her father fell out and went directly to her teacher’s feet. After this embarrassment she decided to become an unknown secret writer who hides her life story behind a public library shelf. She became linked with a Speci...more
This book is about a girl named Sahara. In the beginning of the book, Sahara is in special education. So is a kid named Darrel Sikes. Darrel is a bad kid who you'd assume would go to jail after he graduates. Anyway, one of Sahara's teachers wants to take her out of special ed, but at the end of the year she ends up getting retained. Sahara also always wanted to be a writer, but she never did anything towards becoming one until she gets a new English teacher who gets her to write more. I would re...more
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Esme Raji Codell is the recipient of a prestigious James Patterson Pageturner Award for spreading the excitement of books in an effective and original way. She has been a keynote speaker for the International Reading Association and the American Library Association, a “virtual” keynote for the National Education Association’s “Stay Afloat!” online conference for first-year teachers, and a featured...more
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