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Summary
Summary
From the Editor's Desk
A Question of Fairness
There has been no teaching so far this year in Mr. Larson's classroom. There has been learning, but there has been no teaching. There is a teacher in the classroom, but he does not teach.
Cara Landry is a budding journalist. When she posts a scathing editorial about her burned-out teacher on the bulletin board one afternoon, everything changes. Prodded into action for the first time in years, Mr. Larson challenges his fifth-grade students to create a real newspaper. Soon The Landry News gets more attention than either Cara or her teacher bargained for, as the principal uses the paper to try to get Mr. Larson fired. While the whole town is swept up in a dramatic debate over The Landry News and the First Amendment, Mr. Larson uses the controversy as raw material for some of the finest teaching of his career. And Cara and her classmates learn the importance of tempering a newspaper's truth with mercy. But will their lessons cost Mr. Larson his job?
Written by the author of the immensely popular Frindle, this is a compelling new novel about the collision of a student in need of a teacher with a teacher in need of inspiration.
Author Notes
Andrew Clements was born in Camden, New Jersey on May 7, 1949. He received a bachelor's degree in literature from Northwestern University and master's degree in teaching from National Louis University. Before becoming a full-time author, he taught in the public schools north of Chicago for seven years, was a singer-songwriter, and worked in publishing.
He is well known for his picture book texts, but it was his middle school novel, Frindle, that was a breakthrough for his writing career. Frindle won numerous awards including the Georgia Children's Book Award, the Sasquatch Children's Book Award, the Massachusetts Children's Book Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Year 2000 Young Hoosier Book Award. His other works include The Landry News, The Janitor's Boy, No Talking, Things Not Seen, Things Hoped For, and Things That Are.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-A thought-provoking novel from the author of Frindle (S & S, 1996). Mr. Larson has taught for 20 years and he's burned out. His idea of the open-classroom method is to start his fifth graders on a project and then sit back and relax with coffee and a newspaper. So when Cara Landry writes a newspaper with an editorial about the lack of teaching going on in room 145, the former "Teacher of the Year" gets very upset. Realizing that the girl is stating the truth, he starts a unit on journalism and the class enthusiastically begins a newspaper. With Cara as editor, the project blossoms. However, when she allows a very personal and poignant story on divorce to be printed, the principal sees it as an opportunity to get rid of Mr. Larson. The teacher then uses the proceedings as a real-life lesson on the First Amendment. The children rally to his support, as does the faculty, and at a public hearing he is vindicated. With chapter headings reading like headlines, the plot moves quickly. Bits of humor lighten the theme of "Truth with Mercy." The author has created believable characters, from the beleaguered Mr. Larson to the intelligent and thoughtful Cara. Readers will cheer for both of them as they move toward the satisfying conclusion.-Anne Knickerbocker, Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) Another terrific school story by the inventor of Frindle (rev. 11/96) continues to explore teaching methods and ways of learning as it weaves a tale that could happen in any school. Fifth-grader Cara Landry has not had a smooth school experience since her parents divorced, and now she has the worst teacher in school. (Mr. Larson hands out worksheets each morning and then sits back to read the paper.) Cara is a contained, bright, creative loner whose goal is to be a journalist. When she publishes her own newspaper, The Landry News, and editorializes on the absence of teaching in her classroom, her days of anonymity are over. Cara and Mr. Larson both evolve during the course of the next several weeks: Cara into a popular editor, Mr. Larson into the kind of caring, motivating teacher he used to be. Clements writes with a light touch that allows the text to flow effortlessly for the reader, yet lays out thought-provoking issues such as intellectual freedom that are likely to engender further exploration. Censorship rears its ugly head in the clash between Principal Barnes and unorthodox teacher Mr. Larson. Although this book is for a younger audience, it contains echoes of Paulsen's The Boy Who Owned the School and Avi's Nothing but the Truth. Both would-be Mr. Larsons and budding Cara Landrys will find their pictures in these pages. e.s.w. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-7. Fifth-grader Cara Landry's homemade newspaper, The Landry News, is all about truth and education. That's why her teacher, Mr. Larson, is such a disappointment: once known for his innovative classes, he now lazily leaves students to learn on their own. Hoping to change this, Cara makes his ineffectual teaching the subject of an editorial, with both positive and negative repercussions. Mr. Larson is inspired to become a better teacher; Cara's paper becomes a rewarding classroom project. But the paper also provides the principal with an excuse to force Mr. Larson out, involving his students--and readers--in a thought-provoking exploration of freedom of speech, the impact of media blitzes and biases, and effective teaching methods. The depth of characterization, humor, realistic dialogue, and drama will engage readers; also, the accessible examples of responsible reporting, rewards of team efforts, constitutional rights, and how the relationship between students and educators can be mutually beneficial will be educational. Sure to stimulate classroom discussion, the novel offers students and teachers well-rounded perspectives and lessons on reconciling appearances with the real story--in the media as well as in private lives. --Shelle Rosenfeld
Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-A fifth grader's scathing editorial criticizing her burned-out teacher spurs him to take his duties seriously. A terrific read about free speech, the power of the pen, and the need to temper truth with mercy. (July) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.