Fish in a Tree book review

After the verbal review of a student of mine reading this book for a class assignment with help from Learning Ally, I thought I should check it out. He recounted feeling he could relate with the main character, Ally Nickerson.

What a delightful book following the journey of a struggling reader who dodges being outed by frequent home moves and behavior issues that deflect and hide her secret well. Ally can’t read most words. Her latest classroom placement with Mr. Daniels is what ultimately ends up rescuing her from the torture that words have had over her.

Her family and the friends she makes along the way, with their learning challenges, help us all to see that everyone has some THING they are struggling with. The author describes this best in this quote,

“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.”

Poor behavior is often exhibited to hide other issues, and we get to see that in the book in other characters as well. The author, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, is gifted and this book will be a Christmas gift for many of my students this year. I hope they find characters they can relate to, a few laughs, and, most importantly, the desire to fill their toolbox further. Thank you Lynda Mullaly Hunt for giving a relatable voice to dyslexia.

Awards/Honors:

a teacher’s favorite moment

“I suddenly realized I like reading”