Book Summary
Allie Finkle creates rules like, "Moms don't snap too often. But when they do, you had better stop whatever you were doing wrong, if you know what's good for you." In this particular Allie Finkle book, she is excited about going on a class field trip--until she learns it is the one-room schoolhouse at Honey Prairie, and they will be sharing the bus with a group of students from Allie's previous school. Even though she is not happy about seeing her previous best friend, Mary Kay, who has ruined every single one of her field trips, Allie is a good sport because she wants to set a good example and please her teacher. Needless to say, the field trip does not go well, but Allie maintains her composure and sets a good example. Since she is her former best friend's buddy, she does not desert her when she is stung by a bee. When some students start making fun of another boy, Allie stands up for him. Even though others make fun of Allie because she makes rules, she is pleased to discover that George Washington made rules, too. Her favorite is the last rule in the book: "Undertake not what you cannot Perform, but be Careful to keep your Promise. (Don't start what you can't finish. Always keep your promises.)"
My Impressions
This book is very true to life. Every preteen has drama in her life, either with friends, former friends, or snooty girls. Allie copes with them all. She realizes that the reason she keeps list is not crazy; it helps her realize when she has made a mistake so she can correct it. When she is forced to pair up with her former friend, Mary Kay, Allie remembered all the times her friend had let her down. She wants to trade groups, but she doesn't because one of the boys from her school with behavioral and attention problems is on her team. She shows her compassion by remaining on the team with him to protect him against the inevitable bullying. When Mary Kay is stung by a bee, Allie doesn't desert her although everyone else does. By the end of the story, Allie has come to terms with her "past" and has moved on. In short she has matured. I think this is an important lesson for girls to learn. I don't see boys reading this book, but girls will love it.
Professional Review
Phelan, C. (2010) Allie Finkle's rules for girls: blast from the past, Booklist.
Allie's first school field trip, a visit to a pioneer village, takes a surprising twist when her fourth-grade class shares a school bus with the fourth-grade class from her old school. the number of mean girls rises dramatically, and Allie becomes a target, but by sticking to her rules, she manages surprisingly we. Sometimes wryly amusing, this first-person chapter book from the Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series captures the day-to-day thoughts of the well-intentioned narrator, from the low points of self-deluded reflection to the high points of selfless action. As always, Allie's most recent list of rules is appended. Grades 3-5.
Library Uses
1. Build a pioneer village in the library. Ask a willing parent to bake bread. Invite a docent from a nearby pioneer village to come and give talks about the era. If possible, ask another willing parent to bring a "gentle" horse for the students to pet.
2. Develop simple first aid "rules" for when people get stung by a bee, have a seizure, choke, etc...
Bauer, J. (1998). Rules of the Road. NY: Penguin Group.
Book Summary
Bauer tells the realistic story of Jenna Boller who works in a shoe store, has an alcoholic father, and an overworked mother. Jenna takes pride in her ability to sell shoes, but she can't seem to change her father's or her mother's situation. When the owner of the string of shoe stores, the every elegant Ms. Gladstone, asks Jenna to drive her from Chicago to Texas, the young girl is shocked. She is a relatively new driver, and she has never driven for hours at a time. No matter her misgivings, Jenna takes the job and learns a lot about the shoe business, about driving and about Ms. Gladstone's problem, a son that wants to sell the business to an inferior shoe manufacturer. Jenna, because of the death of dear friend, gathers the strength to tell her dad he needs help.
My Impressions
It is hard to imagine a book more attractive to teenagers than this book. It is about driving, that wonderful freedom. Readers will find more than just rules of the road-they will learn rules for life. For instance, Jenna is loyal to Ms. Gladstone when her weaselly son insists on seeing her. When Ms. Gladstone asks Jenna to visit competitor shoe stores, she discovers that lower price shoes lack the quality of the Gladstone shoes. Also, because Ms. Gladstone has confidence in her, Jenna begins to have more confidence in herself. Her brief friendship with Harry Bender, Jenna gains the tools for dealing with her alcoholic father. All of these "rules" will be helpful for any teenager who faces these kinds of problems.
Professional Review
Sutton, R. (1998). Rules of the road. Horn Book Magazine, 74(3), 339.
YA comedy? You might have thought it an endangered species, but here's Joan Bauer with a fast and funny tale of one big-boned (and big-hearted) gal's summer of discovery on the road. Jenna, newly armed with a driver's license, thought she had her summer all worked out--until the imperious Mrs. Gladstone, owner of the national shoestore chain where Jenna works in Chicago, shows up and asks Jenna to be her driver. To Texas. and on the way, there will be a little spying, both on the other Gladstone's outlets and on the competition, for Mrs. Gladstone (think of Lou Grant's boss Mrs. Pynchon) is battling a merger engineered by her slimy son Elden. Jenna is a great shoe-seller ("Told her nonjudgmentally to think about clipping her big toenail so it wouldn't push against the shoe and ruin the fit") and an ebullient raconteur ("I love traveling and meeting new people. I met a retired couple from Canada who said that talking to me made them feel good about American teenagers. I said talking to them made me feel good about Canada, although I'd never had a reason not to"). Her badinage with Mrs. Gladstone recalls some of Richard Peck's spirited cross-generational dialogue, and the story runs as smoothly as Mrs. Gladstone's plush Cadillac. A subplot about Jenna's alcoholic father (and his counterpart, a bluff and hearty shoe salesman-cum-AA counselor) is a little heavy-handed but does not impede the pedal power; Jenna is a heroine who, along with providing a story with plenty of mileage, has some good shopping tips--don't buy another pair of shoes until you've heard her out.
Library Uses
1. Have readers design their own pair of shoes remembering Jenna's tips for shoe fit.
2. Students may try to sell the shoes using persuasive techniques as Jenna did.
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