Book Review: Fish in a Tree

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
2016 Colorado Children's Book Award nominee

My grandpa used to say to be careful with eggs and words, because neither can ever be fixed. The older I get, the more I realize how smart my grandpa was. 

Another CCBA nomination, and a really, really, really good one. Sixth grader Ally has trouble in school. She finds all kinds of ways to hide it and mask it, and gets into trouble because of her evasion and defiance. A new teacher sees through her, appreciates her gifts, and suspects she is dyslexic. Her diagnosis and interventions open up a new world of learning, and becoming empowered to appreciate both her gifts and her differences helps her to deal with classroom bullies and to forge deep bonds of friendship. Another reviewer called this book "teacher bait," a term I had never heard before, but it absolutely fits. All teachers dream of changing lives for the better. The one in this book, based on a real teacher of the author's, is an understated superhero. My favorite of the CCBA nominees so far.