I think I would have given this 4 stars when I was 10. I very clearly remember reading it. I grew in a very liberal area, and I remember going to my mom when I was done with this book, and being confused about prejudice. Since I had never been aware of it before, I thought that this book must have been set way in the past. My mom assured me that it could have been set in the present. I re-read it with my older son when he was in 3rd gr, and it held up OK, but I definitely wasn't as impressed with it as I was as a child.