Booktalking Colorado - Full Booktalk Record

Booktalking Colorado Full Record:

	Title:	The Report Card
	Author:	Clements, Andrew
	Date Published:	2004
	Genre:	Real Life
	Grade Level:	4 - 6
	Booktalker:	Bonnie Phinney

Booktalk:
Nobody likes to be different. Nora KNEW she was different, knew it when she could put adult puzzles together when she was only one; knew it when she could read at 2 1/2. She never on, however. Even her parents didn't know. When she started kindergarten, she figured it was way too dangerous to be herself-so she became a cat. Everything she did at school was what a cat would do…that lasted two weeks and then she and her parents were called into the principal's office. O.K., she can't be a cat…but she could be a COPYCAT. For the next few months Nora took turns copying what every other child was doing-when they worked on a letter, she worked on a letter; when they used blocks, she built with blocks. She was always careful to do it just like the person she was copying. That's when she first got to know Stephen-got to know how hard he worked to learn something that came easily to her . She really admired him. Nora and Stephen became best friends. It was in the fourth grade when the standardized tests started that Nora realized how bad they made Stephen feel. Schools had become so competitive. Kids started worrying about test scores and grades. It's also when they began to be divided up-into winners and losers. Stephen wasn't dumb, but he began to think of himself as one of the losers. Nora wanted to help him before it was too late. Nora was always getting bright ideas-and this time she concocted what she thought would be a foolproof plan. She was going to show them-them being the adults-just how UNIMPORTANT grades really were. Her first "after plan" report card had just one blemish on it- a "C" in spelling. In every other class she proudly earned a "D". Her parents were furious. Her teachers were befuddled. She had planned carefully, taking into account all the possible contingencies. She thought. As you probably know, things don't always work out the way you plan them, no matter how much you prepare. Once Nora's plan got rolling and Stephen got involved-along with parents, teachers, and even school board members-well, let's say that STOPPING something you started is even harder than starting it in the first place.