The Waffler

June 15, 2013
Making up his mind has always been hard for Monty to do, but when the principal tags him with the label "waffler," it becomes a nickname the fourth grader desperately wants to lose. Monty's unwillingness to call attention to himself will resonate with readers. He knows that objecting to the hated nickname will make it stick, and he fears that if his mother calls the teacher about the Band-Aid "decision-aids" he has to wear, the teacher will be angry. The adults in Monty's school seem competent but insensitive. When the fourth graders are assigned kindergarten Reading Buddies, three kindergartners are left out, and suddenly, Monty is reading to four of them at recess. Monty's family life is as complicated as his school life: two parents, two stepparents, two half sisters and two houses. He and his decisive twin sister move back and forth week by week. Because he takes so long to make them, many of Monty's choices seem desperate, but at least one works out: A pet rat's long name, a combination of all the names he had been considering, gives him an idea for solving his Reading Buddy problem. Donovan's third-person narration convincingly captures the interior monologue of a boy who likes to consider the alternatives, and her school and home settings ring true. A solid middle-grade choice--no waffling necessary. (Fiction. 7-10)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 3-5-Decision-making is an agonizing ordeal for Monty Greene, but it does not become the bane of his existence until his new fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Tuttle, decides to accelerate the process for him by branding him with three "decision-aids" (Band-Aids). These are applied to his arm every day for the entire class to see, earning him the derisive nickname, "Waffles." Monty steels himself for the worst school year ever. Reprieve comes in the unexpected form of four kindergarteners-his official Reading Buddy, Leo Schwarz III, and three unofficial reading buddies who missed out on the assignments. Monty empathizes with the three who were left out and spends his recesses reading to them. When Leo moves, Mrs. Tuttle's final, piercing injustice is the announcement that Monty can only pick one of his remaining buddies to join him at the grand "Culminating Event." Monty's resentment finally blossoms into open rebellion when he boldly invites all three to join him. This is decision-making at its finest, and the youngster suddenly finds himself in the role of hero with Mrs. Tuttle cast as the villain. Monty's world is populated with very real, well-developed characters, and his own evolution is almost imperceptible, which makes it all the more enjoyable.-Kathy Cherniavsky, Ridgefield Library, CT

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