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Unschooled
Allan Woodrow is back with another pitch-perfect middle-grade novel full of hilarious antics, epic arguments, and a fifth grade that just doesn't get along! This year's fifth graders are the worst Principal Klein has ever seen. But he's hoping that Spirit Week can teach them teamwork, with a top secret prize for the winning team as incentive.Best friends George and Lilly have been looking forward to Spirit Week all year. They might be complete opposites, but they can't wait to be on the winning team together. When their classes end up rivals, with Lilly leading Team Red and George leading Team Blue, the friends swear they can compete and remain best friends.But suddenly there are slimed lockers, sabotaged costumes, and class pets held hostage. As the pranks escalate, it threatens everything, including the prize. Because if Principal Klein finds out, Spirit Week will be cancelled and the students will spend the rest of the year in detention.Can George and Lilly find a way to fix their friendship and get the entire fifth grade to play fair, or is the most awesome week of fifth grade about to make this the worst school year ever?
288 pages, Hardcover
Published August 29, 2017
121 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Allan Woodrow
17 books55 followersAllan Woodrow is the author of more than thirty books for children, some written under secret names. His books include Unschooled, Class Dismissed, and The Pet War.
Allan often presents to schools, libraries and conferences. He is currently writing his next 12 novels, which are in various states of assembly.
Allan often presents to schools, libraries and conferences. He is currently writing his next 12 novels, which are in various states of assembly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
February 27, 2018
I think this was a wonderful book. I like how George and Lilly were friends in the beginning and then they broke apart. Friends do not get along sometimes. Team blue and team red keep on accusing the team captains for horrible actions that their horrible teammates did. This book was a high raising book of war among the entire fifth grade. George and Lilly have to find a way to get their friendship back and get the fifth graders to play fair. Also, in order to bring back field day, they have to apologize to their principle.
January 13, 2025
A good story about how friendship is better than winning!
This book is ages 8-10 (so not my age lol)
This book is ages 8-10 (so not my age lol)
October 18, 2019
The book “Unschooled” by Allan Woodrow is about to friends named Lilly and George who are having a 5th grade spirit week. The grade is separated by classes, and for the first time, George and Lilly have separate groups. They are upset, but they agree that this won’t ruin their friendship. They end up rivals, with George leading team blue, and Lilly leading team red. But Lilly ruins twin day for team blue, and the war begins. Then costumes get ruined, lockers get slimed, and class pets are getting stolen. As things get worse, the kids have the risk of losing everything. Because if the principal finds out, spirit week with be canceled and everybody with get detention. Lilly and George now need to find a way to fix their friendship, and get everyone to play right. I recommend this book to anyone because it shows what can happen if you take things too far.
January 15, 2021
If I could give this book zero stars I would. This book is terrible! The plot is predictable, and there is very little character development. I skimmed the last few pages because I was about to dnf it. THis book does not even deserve a long detailed review on why the book is written so poorly.
Do better next time Allan Woodrow.
Do better next time Allan Woodrow.
October 18, 2017
My son gives this the four star rating. I would probably give it a three. It is geared for his age group, so I let him give the official rating.
January 19, 2020
This was a cute book with a great message. I started reading this aloud to my fourth graders, and it is definitely a book I would recommend to a fourth grade class, or read aloud to them again.
January 1, 2019
Amazing !
January 31, 2025
A great book, but I don’t agree with the title. Unschooling is real thing, and this isn’t it!
May 14, 2019
I think it's a great way for us to be reading 📚 👍 this
November 28, 2017
I received this book in a pack of freebies from Scholastic. Two stars all the way. The book is about two fifth grade teams who are participating in an overly-spirited Spirit Week (it gets out of hand). The book switches perspectives every chapter between George and Lilly. The two characters spoke and sounded so similar I often forgot whose perspective I was hearing. There is a nice scene where the kids rally to support the Principal; sadly, the book doesn't end there, but continues through another 80-90 pages of contests where one team is out to get the other. Yes, there is a theme here, but the teamwork/cooperation idea is buried under meaningless dialogue and endless foolishness that isn't worth reading!
July 21, 2023
Read this book with the kid I was tutoring lol, it was a fun one
October 13, 2019
Unschooled is about two friends, Lilly and George who do everything together. They’re excited this year that now they are in fifth grade, the two friends get to do Spirit Week, which is a teamwork game that has a special incentive for the winning team!
Lilly and George are in different classes and have a completely opposite personality. Lilly and George are on separate teams (Team Red and Team Blue). Even worse, each is their own team’s captain. Lilly and George both say that they will be best friends through and through, and be rivals in the competition. But when Lilly accidently crushed Twin Day for the opposing team, Team Blue, they want revenge. Team Blue slimed every single Team Red’s lockers. George did nothing to stop it. Lilly and George start to fight at once, hurtling insults back and forth.
The teams start cheating pranks involved with, too much chocolate pudding, egg salad ‘coincidences’ and classroom pets with a new hair style and color. But the pranks kept coming, as more dangerous pranks hit their targets, the prize is starting to get hit too!
Because of that, Principal Klein suspends Spirit Week, but Lilly and George’s will stay strong. They still dressed up in pajamas on Pajama Day and encouraged others on their team to do it as well, they also meet in the gym like they usually do and because of that, they had to skip class. Principal Klein was very angry and the demanded the whole grade has to have detention that day. Lilly and George convinced Principal Klein not to cancel Spirit Week and even made him a trophy (since he never gotten one before).
Principal Klein was surprised at how they treated him and decided to keep Spirit Week, but he said “‘you have to show me you’ve truly learned your lesson. Any hint of shenanigans and Field Day will be canceled immediately. Understand?’” On field day, almost everybody tried to sabotage the games and tried to win them by cheating; Lilly and George had to play another game of hide and go seek to find where the pranks and tricks were hidden. They did it for anything and just to try to show that they are not going to cheat, Lilly even sat on a whole basket of raw eggs, getting yolk all over her clothes, just to prove that! In the end, even though Team Blue won, the whole fifth grade had tickets to the new science museum (which barely anybody was happy about)!
I will recommend this book to readers who like games and contests’, reading this book makes you want to burst into a game. Just a normal Spirit Week at a normal school would be….normal, but not here, creative pranks that lead into a huge disaster, and the fragile line of friendship breaks, oh what else could possibly go wrong?! Oh! And let’s not forget the whole grade having detention, sitting in the cafeteria!! This book is a tricky plotting machine, with twists and turns at every corner, perfect book for reading at school, in a comfy beanbag next to your friends.
Lilly and George are in different classes and have a completely opposite personality. Lilly and George are on separate teams (Team Red and Team Blue). Even worse, each is their own team’s captain. Lilly and George both say that they will be best friends through and through, and be rivals in the competition. But when Lilly accidently crushed Twin Day for the opposing team, Team Blue, they want revenge. Team Blue slimed every single Team Red’s lockers. George did nothing to stop it. Lilly and George start to fight at once, hurtling insults back and forth.
The teams start cheating pranks involved with, too much chocolate pudding, egg salad ‘coincidences’ and classroom pets with a new hair style and color. But the pranks kept coming, as more dangerous pranks hit their targets, the prize is starting to get hit too!
Because of that, Principal Klein suspends Spirit Week, but Lilly and George’s will stay strong. They still dressed up in pajamas on Pajama Day and encouraged others on their team to do it as well, they also meet in the gym like they usually do and because of that, they had to skip class. Principal Klein was very angry and the demanded the whole grade has to have detention that day. Lilly and George convinced Principal Klein not to cancel Spirit Week and even made him a trophy (since he never gotten one before).
Principal Klein was surprised at how they treated him and decided to keep Spirit Week, but he said “‘you have to show me you’ve truly learned your lesson. Any hint of shenanigans and Field Day will be canceled immediately. Understand?’” On field day, almost everybody tried to sabotage the games and tried to win them by cheating; Lilly and George had to play another game of hide and go seek to find where the pranks and tricks were hidden. They did it for anything and just to try to show that they are not going to cheat, Lilly even sat on a whole basket of raw eggs, getting yolk all over her clothes, just to prove that! In the end, even though Team Blue won, the whole fifth grade had tickets to the new science museum (which barely anybody was happy about)!
I will recommend this book to readers who like games and contests’, reading this book makes you want to burst into a game. Just a normal Spirit Week at a normal school would be….normal, but not here, creative pranks that lead into a huge disaster, and the fragile line of friendship breaks, oh what else could possibly go wrong?! Oh! And let’s not forget the whole grade having detention, sitting in the cafeteria!! This book is a tricky plotting machine, with twists and turns at every corner, perfect book for reading at school, in a comfy beanbag next to your friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2017
This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.
I reviewed the prequel to this book, Class Dismissed, about a year ago. I thought it was okay, pretty funny, but kind of forgettable. I did indeed basically forget about it after a while, so I had no idea another book was coming out this year.
I didn't, at least, until Unschooled showed up on my doorstep one day unannounced. I think my younger siblings, frankly, were more excited about it than I was (they had also appreciated Class Dismissed more than I did), so I read it quickly and immediately passed it on to my little brother. And I have to say, I actually liked Unschooled better than Class Dismissed.
It seemed a little more mature to me, and a lot more interesting. The premise of competing teams in school reminded me a little bit of the wonderful No Talking by Andrew Clements, and the split between best friends George and Lilly made for compelling friction. Things quickly spiralled completely out of control between the teams, and the best friends, and it was interesting to see how it happened fairly realistically and how the team leaders continued to be held responsible for things that were not really their fault. I did find it a little unrealistic that the adults put so much responsibility on the shoulders of these fifth graders, but it's all good because I like reading about what they do with it.
Honestly, Unschooled is an engaging, well-paced read with interesting main characters and good levels of tension. I enjoyed it quite a bit as a fun, rather fluffy, read; I suspect that kids in the target audience will love it even more than I did.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I reviewed the prequel to this book, Class Dismissed, about a year ago. I thought it was okay, pretty funny, but kind of forgettable. I did indeed basically forget about it after a while, so I had no idea another book was coming out this year.
I didn't, at least, until Unschooled showed up on my doorstep one day unannounced. I think my younger siblings, frankly, were more excited about it than I was (they had also appreciated Class Dismissed more than I did), so I read it quickly and immediately passed it on to my little brother. And I have to say, I actually liked Unschooled better than Class Dismissed.
It seemed a little more mature to me, and a lot more interesting. The premise of competing teams in school reminded me a little bit of the wonderful No Talking by Andrew Clements, and the split between best friends George and Lilly made for compelling friction. Things quickly spiralled completely out of control between the teams, and the best friends, and it was interesting to see how it happened fairly realistically and how the team leaders continued to be held responsible for things that were not really their fault. I did find it a little unrealistic that the adults put so much responsibility on the shoulders of these fifth graders, but it's all good because I like reading about what they do with it.
Honestly, Unschooled is an engaging, well-paced read with interesting main characters and good levels of tension. I enjoyed it quite a bit as a fun, rather fluffy, read; I suspect that kids in the target audience will love it even more than I did.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
November 24, 2017
Having enjoyed the author's earlier titles, The Pet War and Class Dismissed, I was already predisposed to savor my time in this particular school story. I was not disappointed as Allan Woodrow tells a fairly familiar story about the toll competition can take on a friendship. Fifth graders George and Lilly are lifelong friends, and they love doing things with each other even though they are very different. Despite the fact that Lilly takes winning and competing to an entirely new level and that George is almost obsessively organized and worrying about keeping clean, the two friends make allowances for each other's quirkiness. But when they end up on opposite sides for the annual Spirit Week and both of them are captains of their teams, problems ensue. Suddenly, George isn't sure that Lilly is his friend, and both suspect the other of sabotaging the opposing team's efforts. While Lilly is caught up in the spirit of winning no matter what the cost and George struggles to pull in the reins on his larger, stronger, and more vocal classmates, their friendship is strained and might not be able to be repaired. In his latest outing, the author captures all the joys, fears, humor, and drama of fifth grade as the students give their all in pursuit of an unknown prize. Readers will realize just how easy it is to be swayed by the opinions of others and to doubt oneself and one's real friends when caught up in the emotion of the moment. I enjoyed the pranks and the efforts of George and Lilly to thwart the troublemakers once they have reconciled.
August 7, 2018
{My thoughts} – George and Lilly’s fifth grade class is participating in spirit week at school. There are four classrooms for the fifth grade, that are split into two teams. George is the team captain for Team Blue and Lilly is the Team Captain for Team Red.
You would think that being team captain would be an easy task for any fifth grader. However, this book proves that it is anything but easy. Both George and Lilly have team mates that will try and win at any cost. They have a rough time being honest, fair and good sports.
This book helps to show children that by cheating and showing poor sportsmanship you can lose opportunities and friendships. You can also lose the respect of those you look up to as well as be punished for poor behavior. It also shows you that when you can work together as a team and not cheat and be a good sport, that you can be rewarded.
I think this is a great book for children to read. It helps to show them that winning isn’t everything. It helps to show them that it’s okay to be on the losing team as well as you tried your best.
You would think that being team captain would be an easy task for any fifth grader. However, this book proves that it is anything but easy. Both George and Lilly have team mates that will try and win at any cost. They have a rough time being honest, fair and good sports.
This book helps to show children that by cheating and showing poor sportsmanship you can lose opportunities and friendships. You can also lose the respect of those you look up to as well as be punished for poor behavior. It also shows you that when you can work together as a team and not cheat and be a good sport, that you can be rewarded.
I think this is a great book for children to read. It helps to show them that winning isn’t everything. It helps to show them that it’s okay to be on the losing team as well as you tried your best.
September 7, 2018
Competition can get ugly and when two best friends, George and Lilly, are pitted against each other during Spirit Week, it's safe to say that things quickly go out of control. Each team secretly plots against each other to sabotage any effort made. Yet, most distressing of all is that George and Lilly have become enemies, tossing aside the life-long friendship in the name of winning at any cost.
As the week goes on, however, George and Lilly come to the realization that friendship, honesty, and good sportsmanship is more important the the promised prize to the winning team. Eventually, they team up (even though they are on opposite sides) to thwart any forthcoming sabotage.
Unschooled is told from the opposing viewpoints of George and Lilly. It is full of humor and thought-provoking dialogue. The characters are relate-able and true. It ends perfectly where Book #3 in the series, Field Tripped is sure to begin.
As the week goes on, however, George and Lilly come to the realization that friendship, honesty, and good sportsmanship is more important the the promised prize to the winning team. Eventually, they team up (even though they are on opposite sides) to thwart any forthcoming sabotage.
Unschooled is told from the opposing viewpoints of George and Lilly. It is full of humor and thought-provoking dialogue. The characters are relate-able and true. It ends perfectly where Book #3 in the series, Field Tripped is sure to begin.
September 7, 2017
I enjoyed most of the book, but it is disappointing to see that it does not represent a real school. My biggest problem is the fact that our only two disabled students had broken limbs and no one stopped them from competing. It probably would not have bothered me or come to my attention if it were not for the fact that I work in special education. The moment we got to the last day I realize that either special education does not exist at this school, or these kids have not been invited or allowed to participate in spirit week. It is really sad to see that. Other than that, this book is a really cute fluffy read. There are tons of shenanigans that take place, and valuable lessons to learn.
In the end, I would recommend this book to 9 - 11-year-olds. I really do believe that they would enjoy this story, as well as learn a great deal about sportsmanship and honesty.
In the end, I would recommend this book to 9 - 11-year-olds. I really do believe that they would enjoy this story, as well as learn a great deal about sportsmanship and honesty.
March 23, 2018
This is a tremendous read for any fourth grader to seventh grader. Allan Woodrow provides a story that students can connect to with their friendship, and he teaches a lesson that friendship can never be broken, unless you really want it to be, and competition should never get in the way of your friendship. He shows how winning and the urge to win can get the best of us, and that urge can take away important friendships that matter more than the competition. Allan Woodrow often ends a chapter with a cliffhanger, pulling the reader into the book, and making them want to read more, so they can find out what will happen next. I would recommend any fourth-seventh grader to pick this book off the shelf and start reading!
January 8, 2018
Spirit Week, a week of school where two 5th grade teams compete to win a prize, turns into a nasty competition where Team Red, comprised of two homerooms are pitted against Team Blue, composed of two other homerooms. Lockers are slimed, egg salad is dropped from the ceiling, and stolen class pets are just a few of the incidents. Best friends George and Lily are team captains and after being threatened with suspensions they try to persuade their teammates to stop cheating. Although George and Lilly's friendship is prominent in the story, the majority of the kids will do anything to win. The chapters alternate between Lilly and George. Optional purchase.
August 1, 2018
Spirit Week brings out the worst in the fifth grade class. They work harder at cheating to win than actually trying to win. The two Team Captains - George and Lilly - discover how much more important friendship and honesty are than winning.
The whole set of events starts with an accident when Lilly trips and her breakfast lands all over George on Twin Day.
Lots of humor along the way as the two teams outdo each other with pranks - chocolate pudding in all the balloons, egg salad everywhere.
Use to talk about honesty, friendship, supporting each other, winning is not the most important thing, seeing situations clearly - sometimes an accident is just that.
The whole set of events starts with an accident when Lilly trips and her breakfast lands all over George on Twin Day.
Lots of humor along the way as the two teams outdo each other with pranks - chocolate pudding in all the balloons, egg salad everywhere.
Use to talk about honesty, friendship, supporting each other, winning is not the most important thing, seeing situations clearly - sometimes an accident is just that.
June 4, 2018
The 5th grade class split into two teams to compete for Spirit Week. George and Lilly are named captains for their teams, but can their friendship survive the demands of their teammates who want to win at all costs?
I loved how the chapters alternated between George and Lilly’s point of view. The funny attempts at sabotage between the teams are sure to capture the attention of middle school readers. A quick, fun read!
I loved how the chapters alternated between George and Lilly’s point of view. The funny attempts at sabotage between the teams are sure to capture the attention of middle school readers. A quick, fun read!
January 15, 2019
I really liked this book, and I think you should read it if you like realistic fiction. The last book I read was also realistic fiction. They both go from different perspectives. The book is about best friends, George and Lily. They are in fifth grade and they are super exited for t spirit week. Both of them were planing on doing it together, but now they have to deal with being on different teams, Lily captain of the red team, and George captain of team blue.
December 23, 2020
I enjoy this book because I relate to it. It shows how competition can bring the worst out of people, and affects your relationship with the people you love. Of course, competition can be a good thing if you manage it correctly. And, that is what I like about this book. I also enjoy the fact that it is written in the way such that you can that the Lily(the competitive one) affects her relationship George (her bestfriend). You can see how he is affected by it and his feelings on it.
May 22, 2023
Unschooled is by Allan Woodrow and a great book! It starts out with all of 5th grade and the principle selecting team captains for team red and team blue, both big classes, and then spirit week starts but this is a giant roller coaster of feelings for everyone, even the principle. So finding out how it ends and what the prize is for spirit week, would be amazing. This is a great book, and is very entertaining. I would recommend this book and give it a 5 out of 5. The theme of this book is (dont cheat) because there is a lot of cheating in this book that does NOT need to happen. This book is very entertaining and is a quick fun read.
September 17, 2017
275 pages. This starts off with fifth graders at an assembly in the school gym. I read 2 chapters/11 pages. So far it is ok. There is school drama going on. There are two teams for field day and a special prize will be given to the winning team. It is definitely 5th grade level reading. Recommended for Grade 5.
February 28, 2018
*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*
This is a fun story about friendship, fair play, and egg salad. George and Lilly have been best friends for a long time, but the fifth grade spirit week tests their friendship when they end up on opposite teams. Told in alternating POV, this should appeal to boys and girls.
This is a fun story about friendship, fair play, and egg salad. George and Lilly have been best friends for a long time, but the fifth grade spirit week tests their friendship when they end up on opposite teams. Told in alternating POV, this should appeal to boys and girls.
February 27, 2022
My son and I read this book together. Great book about friendships, sportsmanship, teamwork, and standing up to bullies. Lilly and George had been friends for years, but a Spirit Week competition almost derailed their friendship. It's difficult to stand up to bigger kids, or more popular kids, but they learn that winning by cheating is an empty victory.
August 8, 2023
I really liked it.
My kids have lots of books. They don't want to read those books. They want to borrow new books from the library, school, etc. - you know, kid stuff. I've decided someone is going to read these books. They're here in my house. If you're reading this review, it means the book was solid. Middle grade solid. Would recommend.
My kids have lots of books. They don't want to read those books. They want to borrow new books from the library, school, etc. - you know, kid stuff. I've decided someone is going to read these books. They're here in my house. If you're reading this review, it means the book was solid. Middle grade solid. Would recommend.
June 22, 2024
Read this to my 6th grader, it was good, but got tedious by the end. I think there were valuable lessons taught though, except for the fact that the two leaders never went to the adults about the scheming children, which drove me crazy as a teacher. But, liked how they got what they deserved in the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews