Thursday, July 4, 2024

Chester and the Magic 8 Ball by Lynn Katz


 




Genre: Middle Grade Realistic Fiction.
Source: I received a copy from BookBub. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Middle school is tough. I know this because I’m a middle school teacher. Sixth graders are trying to grow up yet they face so many new challenges. This is often the first time they face the death of a family member or friend for the first time. They face bullying, illnesses, changes in friendship. I guess that is why I know middle school kids will be able to identify with this story.

Georgia has wanted a dog as long as she can remember. She asks her Magic 8 Ball if she will get a dog today and the answer comes back, ‘It is certain’. Georgia puts her plan into effect and by the end of the day she has a dog in her life. Chester isn’t just any dog. He was a well loved dog whose elderly owner fed him candy which rotted his teeth. He had to have all his teeth pulled. Everyone loves Chester.  When Georgia’s father comes home from the hospital and sees the dog he argues with his wife and leave the house. Georgia knows her parents have been fighting a lot lately. But now she believes getting Chester caused her dad to move out.

As we read through the book we see how Chester’s presence has such a surprising effect on people.  Will he bring people together?  Is he psychic? After all he plays with the Magic 8 Ball and so far all his predictions to questions Georgia has asked have been correct.  A charming book full of hope and wishing for better things. A book that shows you that sometimes what you need is right in front of you.  Looking forward to sharing this with my students at school and recommending it to our media specialist.



1 comment:

  1. Don't be too disappointed if your librarian won't buy it; I can't find it at Follett's Titlewave or the PermaBound web site, the two vendors I use most. Paperbacks don't last very long at my school, so I normally don't buy them. Glad you enjoyed the title, though! I wish more teachers would recommend books to me.

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