17 - the wednesday wars

i saw this book a few weeks ago at the bookstore, but fought off the urge to buy it. so, i was really glad to come across it at the library the other day. gary schmidt wrote lizzie bright and the buckminster boy, which is one of my favorite juvenile literature books from the last few years. the wednesday wars is set in long island during the school year of 1967-1968. camillo junior high, where it is set, is a school almost 50% jewish and 50% catholic, except for holling - the narrator. holling is the lone presbyterian in his 7th grade english class and so he gets left alone with mrs. baker - the teacher who 'hates his guts' - every wednesday when the jewish kids leave for hebrew school at 1:45 and the catholic kids leave for catechism classes at 1:55. their wednesdays together start out as days filled with extra chores for holling, but eventually become shakespeare class. and of course, mrs. baker never really hates holling . . .

i'm sitting here typing this and really wishing that i taught younger kids - something that rarely happens. i won't bore you with the lesson ideas that are swarming, but trust me, they are there. i love finding juvenile literature books that aren't 'dumbed down' to their audience and both of schmidt's books that i've read avoid that simplicity. now i want to read his other two books - aaron's way and straw into gold.