The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy Discussion
Book: The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (iBooks Link)
Author: Dana Alison Levy
Pages: 272
Age Range: 9-12
The Misadventures of the Family unit Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy is an episodic story depicting a (school) year in the life of a New England family. Sam, Jax, Eli and Frog (a nickname) range in age from 12 to six. They are all adopted, and have different ethnic backgrounds, skin colors, and interests. They have two fathers, 1 called Dad and one chosen Papa. Dad is a teacher at a local high schoolhouse, while Papa runs a estimator company from the house. They are, in brusque, a thoroughly modern have on a stable two-parent family.
The nice thing most The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher is that while information technology has diversity in spades, the multifariousness feels incidental to the story, rather than being the primary point. The kids are the important thing, along with the various growing pains that they go through. Oh, there are new people that the family unit meets who need to have things explained to them. There are references to the various holiday traditions embraced by the family, in the interest of ensuring that everyone'south background is included. Only the center of the book is the individual issues that each boy is going through, and the ways that the Fletchers all come together as a family.
Sam, the oldest son, is struggling to rest his love of soccer with a new interest in drama (and his new interest in a girl who likes drama, likewise). Jax, the older of two 10-year-olds, is watching his long-time best friend get-go to act grown-upwardly, in ways that Jax isn't ready for. Eli attends a new school, an academically-focused private school that he really thought that he would like (but doesn't). And Frog? He spends near of his time explaining the absence of his new best friend, who may be imaginary. Mingled with all of these private stories is friction that the family has with their new, grouchy neighbour, Mr. Nelson.
Things to similar:
- The kids are not perfect. They are boys, with all the attendant mess and dissonance that one would expect. There is lots of soccer and hockey, and the watching of Patriots games on Tv set.
- The dads are not perfect. They are good parents, who attempt hard, and who are occasionally overwhelmed. Little email snippets and notes at the get-go of each chapter help to communicate what the dads are really thinking, at times (peculiarly emails from Papa to his sister).
- There are frequent reference to "The Fletcher Family unit Rules", which are things similar: no one plays until everyone has finished their homework. Such rules seem necessary in a large family, and are a nice demonstration of construction.
- There'southward non sweeping resolution, but progress is made in a realistic fashion, in various areas.
Despite the modern composition of the Fletcher family unit, and the presence of prison cell phones and screen time,The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher has an old-fashioned experience to information technology. At that place's a camping trip, a Halloween party, and a scramble to set Thanksgiving dinner. There'south playing with kids in the neighborhood, and attention Family Dark at the kindergarten. No external real-world events necktie the story to an exact time (Mr. Nelson is a Vietnam Veteran, but nosotros don't know his exact age), which will keep this book from feeling dated in coming years. Information technology would brand a nice companion volume to The Penderwicks series, actually, though featuring boys instead of girls.
I must acknowledge that I institute The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher to be a bit slow-paced, specially the first half of the book. It took me a while to get singled-out pictures of all four boys in my mind, and the episodic plot didn't capture my full attending. This did improve for me in the second half of the book, and I enjoyed the book, but it took me a bit longer to go through than I would have expected.
Withal, I recall that The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher has a lot to offering immature readers, especially boys. Happily, kids who accept gay parents, or who are adopted, or who are non white, may find in the Fletcher family a mirror. Simply I think that most readers volition be able to place with at least one of the brothers. Any reader could get some good ideas from the brothers, most trying new things, not judging people when you don't know what they are going through, and admitting when you take made a fault. All of this, with plenty of boy-friendly fun forth the way. I would considerThe Misadventures of the Family Fletcher a must-purchase for libraries serving middle form readers.
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon and iBooks affiliate, and purchases made through chapter links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional price to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson'due south Book Page. All rights reserved. You can besides follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher: Dana Alison Levy
Volume: The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher (iBooks Link)
Author: Dana Alison Levy
Pages: 272
Age Range: ix-12
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy is an episodic story depicting a (school) year in the life of a New England family unit. Sam, Jax, Eli and Frog (a nickname) range in age from 12 to half-dozen. They are all adopted, and have dissimilar ethnic backgrounds, skin colors, and interests. They have two fathers, one chosen Dad and i called Papa. Dad is a instructor at a local high schoolhouse, while Papa runs a computer company from the house. They are, in short, a thoroughly mod accept on a stable two-parent family unit.
The nice thing about The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher is that while information technology has diversity in spades, the diverseness feels incidental to the story, rather than being the master point. The kids are the important thing, along with the various growing pains that they go through. Oh, in that location are new people that the family meets who need to have things explained to them. There are references to the diverse holiday traditions embraced by the family, in the interest of ensuring that everyone's background is included. But the centre of the book is the individual issues that each boy is going through, and the ways that the Fletchers all come together as a family unit.
Sam, the oldest son, is struggling to remainder his love of soccer with a new interest in drama (and his new interest in a daughter who likes drama, too). Jax, the older of ii ten-year-olds, is watching his long-time best friend start to human action grown-upwards, in ways that Jax isn't ready for. Eli attends a new school, an academically-focused private school that he really thought that he would like (but doesn't). And Frog? He spends virtually of his time explaining the absenteeism of his new all-time friend, who may be imaginary. Mingled with all of these individual stories is friction that the family has with their new, grouchy neighbor, Mr. Nelson.
Things to like:
- The kids are not perfect. They are boys, with all the attendant mess and noise that one would expect. In that location is lots of soccer and hockey, and the watching of Patriots games on TV.
- The dads are not perfect. They are adept parents, who endeavour hard, and who are occasionally overwhelmed. Little electronic mail snippets and notes at the first of each chapter aid to communicate what the dads are really thinking, at times (particularly emails from Papa to his sister).
- In that location are frequent reference to "The Fletcher Family Rules", which are things like: no one plays until anybody has finished their homework. Such rules seem necessary in a large family, and are a squeamish demonstration of structure.
- In that location's non sweeping resolution, but progress is made in a realistic manner, in various areas.
Despite the modern limerick of the Fletcher family, and the presence of jail cell phones and screen fourth dimension,The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher has an erstwhile-fashioned feel to it. There's a camping trip, a Halloween party, and a scramble to set Thanksgiving dinner. There's playing with kids in the neighborhood, and attending Family unit Night at the kindergarten. No external real-globe events necktie the story to an exact time (Mr. Nelson is a Vietnam Veteran, but we don't know his exact age), which volition keep this book from feeling dated in coming years. Information technology would make a dainty companion volume to The Penderwicks serial, actually, though featuring boys instead of girls.
I must admit that I found The Misadventures of the Family unit Fletcher to exist a chip irksome-paced, particularly the first one-half of the book. Information technology took me a while to get distinct pictures of all four boys in my heed, and the episodic plot didn't capture my full attention. This did improve for me in the 2nd one-half of the book, and I enjoyed the book, only information technology took me a bit longer to get through than I would have expected.
Withal, I think that The Misadventures of the Family unit Fletcher has a lot to offering young readers, especially boys. Happily, kids who accept gay parents, or who are adopted, or who are non white, may find in the Fletcher family unit a mirror. Only I retrieve that near readers will be able to place with at least i of the brothers. Whatever reader could become some good ideas from the brothers, about trying new things, not judging people when y'all don't know what they are going through, and admitting when yous have made a mistake. All of this, with enough of boy-friendly fun along the way. I would considerThe Misadventures of the Family Fletcher a must-purchase for libraries serving middle grade readers.
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Immature Readers
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon and iBooks chapter, and purchases fabricated through affiliate links (including linked volume covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 past Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson'south Volume Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Source: https://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/2014/08/the-misadventures-of-the-family-fletcher-dana-alison-levy.html
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