Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm

Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm is the first of a duo. The second book is Eighth Grade is Making Me Sick. I enjoyed book one more than the second one. I felt the second book was a bit vague and rushed. I also felt Holm didn't really address the illness Ginny gets in the second book in a realistic fashion.

However, as an educator, I love all the inferring that has to happen to understand these books. The story is told with lists, notes on the fridge, comics, receipts, report cards, school assignments, and bank statements. The reader has to be observant to understand the story and decide what things mean because a lot is left out of the story. Holm trusts her reader to be smart enough to figure it out.

I think it would fun for kids to create a page in the life of someone based on this type of evidence: receipts, notes, report cards, etc. I want students to understand that there are many ways to tell a story.

Read to a child today and see if you can find a new way to tell a story.