"While my classmates work, I look down
at my paper. It looks like a beluga whale
in a sea of milk.
Shay sees my blank paper. "You are so lazy,
Oliver. Why can't you be like the rest of us?"
Shay's words hurt, but not as much as the
words I say to myself. Sometimes the things
I say to myself make me feel like I've been
caught by a bolas spider."
One of my favorite middle grade novels in 2015 was Fish in a Tree. Here is the link to that post: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7130079189010543417/230329664005859518
Readers first met Oliver in that book. In his debut as a picture book narrator, they will learn much more about him, his neurodiversity, and his true character. Oliver does not have an easy time at school. His brain is always in overdrive, and he finds it very hard to focus while his classmates are busy working.
While their pencils push across the page, Oliver's pencil is a rocket making its sounds burst forth from his mouth. Shay does not appreciate his noise and tells him so. Oliver responds sadly, before suddenly changing course with his thinking.
"Why are pencils yellow?
And always No. 2?
Where are all the No. 1 pencils?
And then I wonder if a pencil rocket
could reach the rings of Saturn."
Shay also has something snide to say about Oliver's show-and-tell, while Albert responds positively about what he is sharing. Outside for a break, Oliver pays close attention to an ant hill; Jada wants to know what he's doing. Oliver has a clear explanation about why he loves ants. Shay, of course, has an opinion. Later when the class is writing, Oliver's attention remains on the ants and their colony. Shay, once again, makes Oliver feel bad.
At recess, he just wants to hide. He makes a wish in the tree that offers protection. He just wants to be like everyone else. A quiet visit with Albert, a kind and thoughtful boy, offers a different perspective on what makes Oliver so special and why the world would be a very boring place if everyone were the same.
"The tree is most beautiful when
the leaves are not all the same."
That advice helps turn the page for Oliver in accepting who he is and what he has to offer his friends. He lets Jada and Albert know they are part of his colony, where everyone matters. Just as I did when reading Fish in a Tree, I had tears in my eyes while learning more about Oliver and his loyal friends.
Nancy Carpenter adds meaning to Oliver's worries with winning artwork created using watercolor, pencil, finger paint, crayon, chalk, paper collage, photo collage, and digial media. Varied perspectives show Oliver as he does his best to stay on track while dealing with an over-stimulated imagination. The scene in the tree is overwhelming while Albert's quiet compassion is uplifting and full of wonder.
I love this book!
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