A beautiful life lesson has been woven into a story told from the point of view of Laney Grafton: 10 years old, 4th grader, dreamer, story teller, actress, neglected child....the author uses the premise of Laney following her teacher's instructions about constructing a story, and the method is very effective.
Lara Phelps arrives in class one day and is immediately bullied for her size. Although Lara is indeed very overweight (to the point the teacher has to find a different desk, etc.) she remains seemingly unphased by the mean comments and demonstrates a unique insight into her classmate's lives. She just smiles and goes about her business, and quietly serves in any way she can. Laney observes this quietly and is initially just glad people are taking a break from picking on her, but soon learns that simply staying quiet is not enough.
When the book comes to a climax in the last few chapters, your eyes are likely to be at least a little damp - and the lessons that are taught in this book are invaluable. This book is well written, interesting, and shows a different way of getting the point across that will likely teach and delight your young readers all at once.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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