Arlene on the Scene

by Carol Liu

Arlene has plans. Big Plans. She's going to become the youngest student government officer in Greenwood Elementary history! She'll be the biggest thing to hit little Rhode Island since the invention of coffee milk. Sure, she wears purple leg braces and has a disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth, but that shouldn't stop her, no matter how weird the name sounds. Onward she marches, bending rules and blasting stereotypes in an effort to win at all costs. Join Arlene for a wild ride through elementary school politics, an adventure packed with friendships, fierce competition, and some slippery situations. But it's a most unexpected hurdle--her own unfair judgments of others--that helps Arlene realize the value in embracing differences.

Genres: Disability, Middle Grade

206 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

I grew up in Rhode Island, enjoying coffee milk and ignoring R's in words -- until I met Marybeth, a New Yorker who was studying to be a speech therapist at the University of Rhode Island. Marybeth first fixed my speech, and then we became best friends. We wrote "Arlene on the Scene" to help find a cure for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, which affects both Marybeth and her daughter, Grace. Proceeds from this book will be donated to the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation to fund CMT research, develop new treatments, and hopefully find a cure.

Reviews

[Pamela Wood]

Our whole family was excited to read this sweet book. It started with seventeen year old Summer to 83 year old Mawmaw to nine year old Nik. We all loved Arlene!!

[Maria Kussy]

A good book as a discussion starter with kids and reflecting how others are treated and perceived.

[Lolo Onda]

I read this book to my 3rd and 4th graders and they seemed to enjoy it overall. Great themes and messages throughout the book for young people about awareness and accepting those with ability differences. A few elements of the book felt a little unnecessary and unappealing to my students but overall they liked the book!

[Rebecca]

To me, it seems like this book was writing for only one purpose: to raise awareness of Charcot-Marie-Tooth. It succeeded in that goal, since this book is the only reason I even know about Charcot-Marie-Tooth. However, it created mixed results in other things a book should do, like good main characters and story.

Arlene here is defined mostly by her condition. Sure, she has other personality traits: a positive attitude, pluck, enthusiasm, an interest in politics, but those are all results, or reactions to, having Charcot-Marie-Tooth. For someone who tries not her let her disease define her, Arlene’s entire character seems to be a reaction to having it. Also, Arlene’s an old lady name. At least she lives in Rhode Island, which is really cool.

This book is one of the never-ending parade of kids books that are all about a kid with a specific disease or who is a member of a specific minority group, and are intended to raise awareness or promote a specific cause. There is nothing wrong with writing a book with messages, and this one turned out okay. However, a book must be a book, not only a tool for teaching kids empathy.

[Carly]

When I hear CMT, I think of Country Music Television. Now I have another meaning for it. A good book to introduce different challenges - physical, emotional, and social - to younger readers.

Good for 3-5 grade readers.

[Heather W.]

My family has CMT. While only my mom wears braces, we all have had to realize our limits. This was a simple but enjoyable read.

[Sandra]

Great story, well written, keeps my granddaughter interest. She loved it.