Class Action

February 15, 2018
A love of learning does not require homework to flourish in Frank's (Armstrong and Charlie, 2017) latest.Sixth-grader Sam wants to build a treehouse with his dad and spend more time with his older half sister, Sadie, but instead he faces a seemingly bottomless pit of superfluous schoolwork. One more homework assignment is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, launching Sam up on his desk in protest--and subsequently into a three-day suspension. Sadie, mired in her own endless homework Hades, soon joins forces to stand up against the curricular status quo. With a crew of friends who each bring their own areas of expertise and life experience to the team, Sam, Sadie, and their curmudgeonly, retired-lawyer neighbor, Mr. Kalman, manage to take their fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the process, Sam and his squad learn about civics, computer science, economics: more than any worksheet could ever hope to instill. While the pacing of their court case, from principal's office to the highest court in the land in the span of mere months, stretches the bounds of credulity even for fiction, the story is entertaining and engaging. The characters' example of project-based learning is likely to appeal to both educators and burned-out students. Sam and Sadie seem to be white by default, and their friends are a relatively diverse group.More amusing than your average civics class. (Fiction. 10-12)

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March 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Sam Warren is a sixth grader completely bogged down with homework. Spending more than four hours every night on assignments, he's spending less time with his family and friends and has a high level of anxiety. When the prep packet for the next standardized test adds even more hours to his evenings, Sam snaps. Enough is enough. A protest at school lands him a swift suspension, but Sam isn't ready to back down. With the help of a retired lawyer, Sam takes his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The premise of Frank's page-turning, funny novel will immediately resonate with the middle grade audience-and likely find quite a bit of sympathy with parents as well. The book also has the potential to be an excellent teaching tool for Social Studies teachers; Sam has to argue his position at each level of the U.S. justice system as the case makes its way through the various courts. With information about historically important Supreme Court cases sprinkled throughout, the novel, offers strong curricular connections. VERDICT Humor abounds in this appealing and empowering tale. An easy pick for readers interested in the U.S. justice system.-Patrick Tierney, Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School, Providence

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