Fish in a Tree in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 02, 2015 Kirsten Barber rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, genre-fiction, level-middle-grade, award-sc-ban-junior, genre-realistic-fiction, setting-usa, format-hard-copy, read-aloud-ideas-luke, homeschool-6th-grade, representation-disabilities

“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally knows that she is different from everyone else in her sixth grade class. The other kids in her class tell her that she's dumb, and they're right. When Ally tries to read, the letters flutter around on the page like butterflies. Writing is hard too - it takes Ally hours just to put a couple paragraphs down on paper. Ally tries to make sure that no o “Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Ally knows that she is different from everyone else in her sixth grade class. The other kids in her class tell her that she's dumb, and they're right. When Ally tries to read, the letters flutter around on the page like butterflies. Writing is hard too - it takes Ally hours just to put a couple paragraphs down on paper. Ally tries to make sure that no one realizes just how dumb she is though. If an assignment is too hard, she just makes a joke or pretends she forgot to do it. But when she gives her teacher the perfect card to welcome her new baby, Ally is humiliated to find out that the picture of the beautiful yellow flowers actually adorns a sympathy card. The principal and Ally's mom dismiss her behavior as acting out, but deep down inside Ally knows that she will never be smart enough to read the card's words. But when Ally gets a new teacher named Mr. Daniels, Ally can no longer hide how different she feels. Mr. Daniels is the first person who has ever cared enough to look beneath Ally's wisecracks and seemingly bad attitude. As he helps her put a name to her differences (dyslexia) and teaches her to embrace her strengths, Ally begins to accept herself and value her own unique talents.

I read Hunt's One for the Murphys last year, and it absolutely touched my heart. Fish in a Tree is even better. I knew very little about how a dyslexic person experiences the world before reading this book, but I know enough about feeling left out and being teased to relate to Ally's struggles. Middle schoolers will see themselves in Ally - her doubts about herself echo the feelings we have all experienced. Moreover, reading about Mr. Daniels reminded me of those special teachers in my own childhood who went above and beyond their job descriptions. Anyone who works with children will feel inspired by this awesome teacher who sees the good qualities in every student and stops at nothing to help them.

I love Hunt's writing style. It's simple and understated, but the way she puts things is still lyrical even without the flowery prose. Some lines floored me with how true and honest they felt. Fans of Wonder and Because of Mr. Terupt will embrace this beautiful story.

Ages 10-14 ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Jean-Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, middle-grade, character, realistic-fiction

4.5 stars. I really, really liked this read, although at times it felt a little like an ABC After School Special. My biggest problem with it was the authenticity of the characters, namely Shay. Sometimes she, as well as some of the characters, felt too stereotypical and lacked depth. I wondered why Mr. Daniels didn't do more to reach out to her as much as the other characters. Clearly there were problems there too.

What I loved most about the book was Ally. I think this story gave its readers rea ...more

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