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A fairly gentle story about a 3rd grade boy learning about independence and standing up to his over-protective parents. A bit of humor, lots of discussions about Pluto and how to change the world, and gradeschool friendships. Nothing really rocks the boat here, and while Oliver grows and changes through the story, most of the characters stay fairly flat and serve their roles - girl who likes bunny, best friend who likes rocks, project partner who talks too much, over-protective mom. Fairly short
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Third grade Oliver’s biggest problem is his mother. She does everything for him from tying his shoes to doing his homework. Oliver is not terribly brave when it comes to experiencing the dubious wonders of a bouncy room, or having dogs jump on him and sniff in embarrassing areas, but he would really like a crack at doing his own projects. When his teacher assigns a diorama of the solar system to the class, Oliver’s parents jump in with boxes and Styrofoam in characteristic fashion. In a surprisi
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Part IV in my search for easy chapter books with boys as the main character.
This was probably my favorite so far. Oliver is a 3rd grader who suffers from overprotective parents. Through two school assignments that his parents normally would have done for him (a diorama of the solar system and an idea for a plan that will change the world) Oliver manages to take control of his life and show is parents that he can take care of himself in many ways. Oliver is a sweet kid, and kids will easily "get" ...more
This was probably my favorite so far. Oliver is a 3rd grader who suffers from overprotective parents. Through two school assignments that his parents normally would have done for him (a diorama of the solar system and an idea for a plan that will change the world) Oliver manages to take control of his life and show is parents that he can take care of himself in many ways. Oliver is a sweet kid, and kids will easily "get" ...more
Cute story. Who hasn't seen these parents in action? Oliver has quite a load on his hands as he tries to step up to the plate and become his own person, for better or for worse. I really liked Olivers character and his voice. You couldn't help but root for him.
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Fun little book about 3rd graders while they are learning about the galaxy. Would be a good read-a-loud for 2nd or 3rd graders.
What a perfect book for young middle-graders. The characters, the tone, the voice, the not-too-complex plot--Claudia Mills nailed each one. This book reminds me that humor in children's books is not always goofy, silly, LOL funny. Sometimes humor for this age can be as simple as a certain lightness of language.
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A great read for younger readers. Oliver has great ideas, but is a bit smothered by his parents attentions to his homework and other aspects of his life. He finds ways around them and wins through in the end.
Another cute quick story, love the other books by this author. Yahoo for a character who stands up to a smothering parent and has his own point of view.
It's a really refreshing change of pace for a children's book to feature overprotectively parents rather than abusive neglectful parents.
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Charming early chapter book!
Jan 22, 2009
Rachel
marked it as to-read
RL730
Nov 22, 2011
Chris
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-grades-or-beginning-reader
Oct 03, 2014
Cara
marked it as to-read
