Sahara Special

AADL has no copies of this item

Youth level.
Me and Darrell Sikes -- My true ambition -- At the library -- New things all the time -- We got her -- Lion's lesson -- George gets busted -- Way things are built -- Miss Pointy gets me where I live -- Orphans -- Why teachers get apples -- Name-calling -- Autobiographia literaria.
Struggling with school and her feelings since her father left, Sahara gets a fresh start with a new and unique teacher who supports her writing talents and the individuality of each of her classmates.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Outstanding rec from my 10 yo submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 11, 2016, 8:44pm I gave this to my 10 year old (4th grader), who read it, loved it, and promptly gave it back to me so that I could read it too. It's an outstanding book about an unconventional teacher who reaches a quiet student (and the whole rest of the class) and gives them a chance to blossom. It's beautiful. It's well done. It's for way more than kids, but if you have a kid, it's a great one to read with them.

mixed feelings submitted by nemiller on July 31, 2021, 1:52pm I liked Sahara, but I found the teacher really frustrating, especially after I found out she was based on the author. Another reviewer on Goodreads called this book the author's "love letter to herself" and I kind of agree. Also, she did certain "unconventional" things that I, as a teacher, really disagreed with, like buying all the students notebooks - but then charging them $2 each, when they hadn't asked for the notebooks in the first place. And she doesn't read the IEPs because she doesn't want to have preconceived notions about the kids - a noble thought, probably, but it means she was cheating at least some of her students out of necessary accommodations.

I realize I'm not the target audience though, since I'm a teacher, not a kid. Still, I'd recommend Louis Sachar's books over this one any day.