Ready? Line UP! FALL IN! And you'll fall for this timely and generous novel set on an Air Force base during the Iraq War, about an amazing teacher ...
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reviews
Jul 28, 2011
Lisa
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Ms. Loupe, the new sixth grade teacher, is unconventional and quirky. Her students, many of whom are the children of military personnel stationed at the nearby air force base, are accustomed to change with students moving in and out as their parents are deployed but they find Ms. Loupe an unexpected and, for once, refreshing change. She hopes to convince her students that a) art needs a frame; b) art is arranging objects to create beauty; and c) theater is the art of saying yes. Of course this
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Jun 23, 2011
Stacy
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Bo (Bogart) didn't have a very successful year in fifth grade. So, he isn't looking forward to sixth grade too much. He isn't looking forward to continued visits with Mrs. Heard,the principal. All that changes when Miss Loupe enters the pictures and introduces students to "the taped space" and the art of improvisation. Miss Loupe also introduces students to her brother Marc who is serving in Afghanistan. This creates a special bond for the students in room 208 because most of them (
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Sep 08, 2010
Miss
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"Miss Loupe could make them see things that weren't there too. She could make you believe that a couch was worth talking to, that cracks were infinitely important, and that anything that happened between four lines of slightly dingy masking tape was as real as a scar on your leg. (Holmes pg. 175)"
From the minute I started reading this book, I fell in love with Miss Loupe's character. She reminds me of the teacher we all aspire to be when we start our careers. Reading about th More...
From the minute I started reading this book, I fell in love with Miss Loupe's character. She reminds me of the teacher we all aspire to be when we start our careers. Reading about th More...
Apr 02, 2010
Erin
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Living on an air force base with a star general for a dad is not easy for Bo, especially when he finds it hard to stay out of trouble at school. But when a new teacher, Miss Loupe, arrives and shakes things up with a whole curriculum based on improv and theater games, Bo realizes that he might be excited about school for once. His cousin Gari, on the other hand, who came to live with Bo's family when her mom got shipped out to Iraq, is not at all excited. As Gari schemes a way to get sent back
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Mar 11, 2010
Sharon
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Here's the thing: I don't really like the military and I don't really like improv theater, so I'm biased, and this book didn't really help me understand or appreciate either of those things. Also, I didn't really get how Miss Loupe was a great teacher; she taught regular subjects in a regular, boring way for seven and a half hours and for a half-hour she sometimes did goofy improv exercises with her students. I guess it makes sense that this is all you can do in a conservative military base scho
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Jan 20, 2010
Ruhama
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This is a story of plan A turning into a need for plan B, which then discovers it needs a plan C. Miss Loupe is the new sixth grade teacher at Young Oaks on the Air Force base in North Carolina and loves theater. As the year progresses, the class begins to look forward to the daily bouts of improv that take place on the Ugly, Ugly Couch that resides in their classroom. Bo is the son of the commander of the base and, for the first time in his life, is enjoying school, thanks to being in Miss Loup
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Nov 11, 2009
Sandra
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I’m not really sure what I expected from this book when I got it but I definitely loved it. I could relate to this on some levels. I have had three nephews and a brother in Iraq. I had a student whose mother was sent to Korea and she was sent to live with her grandmother for a year and attended my school. Last year one of our teachers was called back up and deployed to Iraq. I have had students who seemed excited they were going to another country and some who were upset because they were
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Jan 06, 2011
Mary Kevan
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This book was very thought-provoking, about what it would be like to be in the army, as a kid.
Bo, a sixth grade trouble maker, has to live on the army base and go to school there. The worst part is that he dad is the commander of the base, so when Bo gets in trouble he knows right away. Things get turned upside down when he has a new sixth grade teacher, Miss Loupe, who has a tattoo of a bird; multiply ear piercing and the interest in Impov Theater. But when he learns to “say yes” to the More...
Bo, a sixth grade trouble maker, has to live on the army base and go to school there. The worst part is that he dad is the commander of the base, so when Bo gets in trouble he knows right away. Things get turned upside down when he has a new sixth grade teacher, Miss Loupe, who has a tattoo of a bird; multiply ear piercing and the interest in Impov Theater. But when he learns to “say yes” to the More...
Apr 13, 2010
Debbie
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Bo, the energetic son of a military commander, has always hated school. He has a hard time sitting still, and every time he gets in trouble at school (which is often), he also gets in trouble at home. When he first meets Miss Loupe, a brand new sixth grade teacher, he is just not sure what to make of her. Sometimes she acts like any old teacher, but other times, when she puts on her stealthy black slippers and steps into the Taped Space, unexpected things happen. Soon, Miss Loupe's students
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Jan 15, 2010
Diane
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On the first day of 6th grade, their new teacher tapes a large blue rectangle on the floor in front of the cracked chalk board. She drags a big, ugly couch into the room, then it really gets weird. Bo has never really liked school, and now he has this really strange teacher and his cousin Gari is coming to live with them while her mother is in Iraq AND she’s going to be in his class. This is the story of one year in an Air Force base school – kids come and go, parents and brothers are deploy
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May 22, 2010
Phoebe
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Bo lives on a military base in North Carolina; his dad is the base commander, and he's used to moving around--but now he really wants to stay--all because of his new 6th grade teacher, Miss Loupe, who sets up a Taped Space in the classroom on day one, moves in an Ugly Couch, and introduces the concept of improv. Then his cousin comes to live with them when her mother is sent to Iraq as an army nurse, changing the family dynamic and embarrassing Bo at school. When tragedy strikes in the form of
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Feb 07, 2010
Sarah
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Operation Yes blends several genres to create a successful look at the homefront for kids when there's a war going on. A kooky new teacher comes to Bo's school as he starts sixth grade. She challenges her students to keep the door open improv comedy style by saying "Yes..." to opportunities. Tragedy and suspense enter the fray, and the students work on their own to broadcast the "Yes" message.
The characters were believable and varied -- not stock characters and More...
The characters were believable and varied -- not stock characters and More...
Jul 19, 2010
Tweller83
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Bo Whaley's sixth-grade teacher, Miss Loupe, starts the school year by taping off part of the floor to create a space for the students to practice improv, and this unconventional beginning will prove more significant than anyone could predict. The story is set on an Air Force base, and Holmes weaves the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into her characters' lives: Bo's cousin Gari is separated from her mother when she is called back into duty; Bo's father is facing possible deployment; and Miss Loupe
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Dec 13, 2009
Abby
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Bo kept getting in trouble last year, so his father's made it quite clear that he'd better keep his nose clean this year. Gari's sent across the country to stay with Bo's family on the air force base when her mom is called up to work at an Army hospital overseas. The two of them do not get along, but when something terrible happens to their cool new teacher, they must learn to work together and make the best of what they've got.
It's interesting to read a story about a school on an a More...
It's interesting to read a story about a school on an a More...
Dec 01, 2009
Ms.
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Bo's cousin, Gari, comes to live with his family on an Air Force base in North Carolina when her mother is called to active duty in Iraq. Neither Bo nor Gari are excited about living together and going to school together. But, both become excited about their unconventional sixth grade teacher who brings a sofa into the classroom, proposes a drama club, and surprises the class with improvisation activities from time to time. When Miss Loupe's brother is declared missing in Afghanistan, her cla
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Dec 26, 2010
Beverly
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Operation Yes is a thoughtful look at life in a military base school and an insightful look at the stress of being the child of a soldier. Without becoming political or preachy, Sara Holmes introduces us to two main characters, Bo and Gari, who try to adjust their school's rules and change their school's culture at the same time. Bo and Gari are realistic pre-teens. They question adults' motives, tune out anything said by an adult that does not directly impact them, and challenge what is unfair.
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Jan 27, 2010
Kit
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This book reminds me of The View From Saturday, with some kids and an inspirational teacher reaching a big goal together. In Operation Yes, the kids are on a military base and dealing with deployed family members, frequent moves, and other facts of military life. I loved the way the separate threads of the story began coming together in the second half of the book, as the kids started working together and bringing out the best in each other. I did think the stakes had been built up higher than t
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Feb 05, 2010
Adam
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I didnt like the story that well, but I felt a very strong connection to the characters. Espically Mrs. Loupe. She reminded me of my 3rd and 6th grade teachers.
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Apr 11, 2010
Jessica
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I actually picked this up because of the cover. It was colored as if it were a chalk board with 2 army guys.
It was an interesting read about being a military kid during the current military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the things that they have to deal with ----moving, living on a base , the temporariness of life, friends, and family.
Living in Alaska many of my friends were from some base or another. Many places you don't have that kind of moving in and out, fr More...
It was an interesting read about being a military kid during the current military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the things that they have to deal with ----moving, living on a base , the temporariness of life, friends, and family.
Living in Alaska many of my friends were from some base or another. Many places you don't have that kind of moving in and out, fr More...
Apr 29, 2010
Jess
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How much do I love that cover? So much. The further you get into the book, the more you realize the cover designer actually read the whole thing - the specific green army men, the crack in the blackboard.
But that doesn't count for much if you don't like the book - fortunately the two went hand in hand. It's one of those stories that sounds like a school story - and much of the action does center around the school - but it's also big picture in that it takes into account family, id More...
But that doesn't count for much if you don't like the book - fortunately the two went hand in hand. It's one of those stories that sounds like a school story - and much of the action does center around the school - but it's also big picture in that it takes into account family, id More...
Jun 25, 2011
Judy
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Did not expect to like this book since I thought it had to do with military life. However it is less about military than life in a school with an inspiring new teacher, Ms Loupe. Students living on base and going to a dilapidated old school learn about improv theater and cover their sixth grade curriculum until tragedy strikes their teacher's family. Students then use what they have learned to pull together and create a huge project to raise money for wounded soldiers. A good story to lead to di
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May 13, 2010
M.
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I like this book. Bo’s school is almost entirely attended by Air Force kids living on base. Bo’s cousin Gari is sent to live with Bo’s family when her single mom is recalled to duty to be a nurse in Iraq. Gari doesn’t want to go, doesn’t want to leave her school in Washington State for one in North Carolina, doesn’t want her mother in Iraq. Their 6th grade teacher in North Carolina teaches through acting—improv—and ultimately Gari, Bo, and a bunch of their friends figure out how to make a po
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Nov 28, 2009
Terri
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This is definitely a late elementary/middle school book. It has gotten great reviews, but I don't see it. The topic is timely - children of those serving in the military come up with a plan to raise money for those recovering from wounds received while serving, as a way to make a difference and to deal with their angst. However, the author's writing is spotty. She makes many jumps and assumes that the reader can jump with her. This makes for choppy writing and often makes rereading necessary. Ma
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Jun 08, 2011
Charlou
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Bo and Geri are cousins forced to attend 6th grade together when Geri's mother is deployed to Iraq. The school is very run down and on the Air Force base where Bo's father is a colonel. The new teacher, Miss Loupe has some unusual teaching techniques including improvisational acting. Bo and Geri have their individual reasons for causing trouble at school, but all changes when they learn of a tragedy for Miss Loupe. The school incidents are fun, the deployment issue timely, and the good deed come
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Jan 19, 2012
Jenni
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Finally, I have found another book that I can read out loud to my class. This book is just plain fun. It is the story of a 6th grade class and their first-year teacher. Her mission is to win a grant to create a theatre group, and she wants to use her students as the guinea pigs. After her brother returns wounded from the Middle East, she loses her enthusiasm for her project. But the students take over where she left off, and they go above and beyond what could possibly be expected for a room of
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Jul 29, 2011
Dotty
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I want to be in Miss Loupe's class! And I have just spent wonderful time with interesting characters: Bo, Gari, Trey and Melissa. And it is 1:30am. Couldn't put it down and helped pass my sleepless battle with poison ivy or whatever these itchy blisters are. I think this book has read aloud potential, with lots of inspiration potential and theatrical improv as well.
Booktalk: “Be Kind. Everyone you know is fighting a great battle.” Bo’s battle is with school and his military father More...
Booktalk: “Be Kind. Everyone you know is fighting a great battle.” Bo’s battle is with school and his military father More...
Nov 06, 2009
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
OPERATION YES by Sara Lewis Holmes is one of a number of new books just out that focus on issues relating to war in the Middle East. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are touching more and more lives here in the U.S., and many authors have taken on the challenge of including these current events in their new novels.
OPERATION YES takes place here in the States on an Air Force base. Bo's father is More...
OPERATION YES by Sara Lewis Holmes is one of a number of new books just out that focus on issues relating to war in the Middle East. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are touching more and more lives here in the U.S., and many authors have taken on the challenge of including these current events in their new novels.
OPERATION YES takes place here in the States on an Air Force base. Bo's father is More...
Jan 30, 2011
Laura
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A wonderful book for children and pre-teens who want to make a difference! Instead of having life's lemons make them sour and angry, the characters turned them into an opportunity for good. I also love how the story takes place on an army base, and how the characters are children of full time military parents. Knowing many families who are full time military, this book gave me more empathy and appreciation for not only our service men and women but also for their families who are often left a
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Jul 24, 2010
Sarah
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Another one I'd been waiting a while to read. I'm always excited to read friends' books, and this one was touching, funny and serious all at once. I know very little about the lives of military kids, and the author creates immediate sympathy for the worry and pain that young people--and not-so-young people--feel when their family members get deployed or put in danger. At the same time, life must continue, and that's shown here in the form of a young, idealistic teacher on the base. In helping he
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Oct 27, 2009
Jessica
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A heartwarming tale of kids (and an inspirational teacher!) living on an army base in North Carolina. I did like the glimpse into the life of military families, since that's something I have very little experience with, but the plot itself was rather scattered. It's nice to see kids taking action, but the action they take isn't all that riveting. Great messages about needing to take risks and say "yes," though.
