Andrew Clements does it again with a delightful but thought provoking book about one little classroom paper and the trouble it causes. Learning will occur whether a student believes it or not and that is often the most exciting way to learn.
Our heroine is Cara Landry, a 4th grader in Mr. Larson's class who enjoys his unconventional methods of teaching. But numerous parents do NOT like the laid back approach that Mr. Larson takes and every year there are a flurry of letters from parents requesting that their students have nothing to do with Mr. Larson the next year. Is Mr. Larson really a bad guy or is he simply burned out? Will this year go along as the previous ones or will Mr. Larson gain some new confidence?
Cara Landry has had a rough few years with a divorce between her parents, her father's remarriage and a move. These problems have left her a little critical about every aspect of life including her teacher and his strange way of teaching. So when she writes her weekly, handwritten newspaper editorial and hangs it on the class bulletin board, she isn't quite ready for the changes it brings.
Mr. Larson knows people do not like his method of teaching but he honestly does not worry about it much until he sees the editorial. What can he do? Should he do anything?
In the end, everyone in the class and the school learn some valuable lessons about education, journalism and the effects of our words on others.
Truly a funny but thought provoking book that will grab the reader from the very first page.
Age Range: 9 to 13
Clements, Andrew. The Landry News. New York: Aladdin, 2000.
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