Stinky Stern Forever: A Jackson Friends Book

by Michelle Edwards

Overview

Pa Lia has never liked Stinky Stern, the enemy of the second grade. He makes fun of other kids, he says mean things, and he's always causing trouble. But when Stinky is suddenly hit by a car and killed, Pa Lia and the rest of the students in Mrs. Fennessey's class face a difficult challenge: How do you deal with the death of someone nobody really liked?

This moving story is certain to resonate with anyone who has ever experienced—or even just thought about—the loss of a classmate or friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152061012
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Series:	Jackson Friends Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.13(d)
Lexile:	530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

MICHELLE EDWARDS has written and illustrated many books for young readers, including Chicken Man, winner of the National Jewish Book Award. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Editorial Reviews

[set star] "This is a thoughtful book, a useful book, and a very well-handled depiction of death for young people."—The Bulletin (starred)

From the Publisher

Gr 1-3-This fourth book in the series focuses on a potentially scary and emotionally charged theme: the death of a classmate. Pa Lia Vang doesn't like Stinky Stern, the bully of her second-grade class. But late one day, on his way home from school, he is hit by a van in full view of the child. She learns later that evening that he has died. When the students take turns remembering him, Pa Lia is unsure of what to say. In an honest and sensitive series of remembrances, the author never allows her characters to sugarcoat or gloss over the boy's past injustices. The children acknowledge the truth about their relationship with Stinky, but also express their sadness and confusion about his death. Edwards's expressive black-and-white computer-sketched illustrations provide additional details about the characters and setting. The author handles the topic with skill and sensitivity, a significant accomplishment given the vocabulary and structural constraints of the easy-to-read chapter-book format. While the subject matter is indeed serious and the tone, for the most part, somber, children who have experienced the loss of a classmate or friend will find hope in this honest presentation.-Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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