Fish In A Tree
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Everyone has their own difficulties, but will Ally's inability to read causes major problems for her at school?
About the Author- Matthew Jurasinski
Book Review - Mikayla Desotell
Fish In A Tree was no doubt about it, an eye-opener for me, just because it talked about how kids get bullied everyday for their differences, whether they have a disorder, disability, or are just different than everybody else. The whole concept behind the book, or the moral of the story, is definitely very engaging. Even some of the things that the characters say is very interesting, such as, “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,” a famous quote by Albert Einstein, and “Great minds don’t think alike.” When I first read these quotes, they made me think a little bit about the deeper meaning behind them, and how they related to the book. The first quote made me think about how there are many people that give up on what other people say to them, this leads people to think they can’t do it. The second quote made me ponder the thought that if great minds think alike, everybody would be the same, we wouldn’t be different from each other. On the other hand, the characters didn’t really have much relation to each other, to me it seemed like the author just plopped them in the book just to add more characters. I understand the relation between Shay (the bully) and Ally (the main character who gets bullied), but I don’t understand the relationship between Ally and some of the other characters, Keisha, Albert, Max, Jessica, etc., some parts of the book were very dull, boring, nothing exciting happened. Overall I thought the book was a very easy read and didn’t go into too much detail about the characters and their relation to each other and what was happening in their life.
I would rate this book 2.5 out of 5 stars because it was a very difficult book to relate to and it just wasn’t very interesting to read.
“This book is absolutely wonderful! I wish I could put it in the hands of every kid who’s ever worried about school. You’ll love Ally, you’ll worry with her, and you’ll cheer her on, hoping she’ll triumph over a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.” - Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor author of Pictures of Hollis Woods and Lily’s Crossing.
“This book manages to take an issue that's hard to make compelling and gives it suspense and authenticity through powerful characters who really stick with you and make you feel for them.” - Tracy Moore.
Cast Of Characters -Hannia Roman
Ally Nickerson
Ally Nickerson is smart in her own way. She can’t read and write and would do anything to avoid it, such as creating clever distractions. But when Mr. Daniels takes over Mrs. Hall’s 6th grade class, Ally’s secret gets discovered. Ally loves to draw and has a creative mind. Meanwhile, Shay and Jessica are mean to Ally, and Shay always feels the need to bring her down.
Mr. Daniels
Shay
Quotes -Ally Haasser
"Everyone is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking that its stupid." Page 159
Mr. Daniels has just told Ally she has a problem trying to read. Mr.Daniels tells Ally that she is going to learn to read, and even if Ally denies it she knows she has to try. This is a powerful quote because lots of people will give up because of what other people say or do. This leads people on thinking they can’t or even try to do something.
"Impossible to possible." Page 266
Ally thought about this at the end of the book. She didn’t think she could accomplish many things in this book but she did. This quote is only three words but two of them are words we think of every day. Impossible is a word that overcomes our determination to do something. Possible on the other hand is a word that motivates us to do something, it overcomes our fear.
"An older brother is older. A big brother looks out for you and smiles when you walk in a room." Page 113
Ally’s big brother Travis was being made fun of her classmates and she tries to stick up for him but ends up being yelled at. She tells the teacher that they made fun of her big brother. I also have a big brother, and this quote is guidelines for becoming a big brother or little brother. I like having siblings because they will always be there for you no matter what, even if you do something to get them mad.
Book Analysis - McKenna Sherrod
Fish in a Tree’s cover is of a literal fish in a tree. This could represent the quote, “Everyone 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.” The fish could represent that someone has been told they couldn’t do something and that someone believed whoever told them that. The tree could represent that the fish, or person, found a way to turn the “impossible” to possible. This could also go to show that that someone is bullied or has a disability that caused people to put them down and make the victim feel that they were incapable of anything and someone helped the victim see that they could do anything they set their mind to.
The title, Fish in a Tree, could also be about the quote that everyone is smart in different ways. It basically says the same thing the cover says. The other thing the title says is that it is about someone who feels like that they are in the wrong environment. Maybe it’s about someone who feels like they don’t belong because they are different and others make them feel bad about it.
Citations
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/fish-in-a-tree
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https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/41828131-fish-in-a-tree
http://www.lyndamullalyhunt.com/about-me/
http://www.amazon.com/Lynda-Mullaly-Hunt/e/B00TR20K8E
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