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The Last Holiday Concert
Winterhope.
It didn't sound like much, but it was a big idea. A very big idea.
It all started when Hart Evans zinged a rubber band that hit Mr. Meinert, the chorus director. Actually, it started before that, when Mr. Meinert learned he was out of a job because the town budget couldn't afford music and art teachers. Mr. Meinert got so mad at Hart that he told the sixth graders he'd had it -- they could produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It was all up to them.
What happens when a teacher steps aside and lets the kids run the show? Not what Mr. Meinert would have predicted. And not what Hart Evans would have guessed, not at all.
Out of chaos, infighting, compromise, idealism, and finally, a fragile peace, the sixth grade choral concert was born. And they called it Winterhope.
But would it be the last holiday concert of them all?
It didn't sound like much, but it was a big idea. A very big idea.
It all started when Hart Evans zinged a rubber band that hit Mr. Meinert, the chorus director. Actually, it started before that, when Mr. Meinert learned he was out of a job because the town budget couldn't afford music and art teachers. Mr. Meinert got so mad at Hart that he told the sixth graders he'd had it -- they could produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It was all up to them.
What happens when a teacher steps aside and lets the kids run the show? Not what Mr. Meinert would have predicted. And not what Hart Evans would have guessed, not at all.
Out of chaos, infighting, compromise, idealism, and finally, a fragile peace, the sixth grade choral concert was born. And they called it Winterhope.
But would it be the last holiday concert of them all?
166 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2004
100 people are currently reading
1264 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Clements
136 books2,209 followersI was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 and lived in Oaklyn and Cherry Hill until the middle of sixth grade. Then we moved to Springfield, Illinois. My parents were avid readers and they gave that love of books and reading to me and to all my brothers and sisters. I didn’t think about being a writer at all back then, but I did love to read. I'm certain there's a link between reading good books and becoming a writer. I don't know a single writer who wasn’t a reader first.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
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November 22, 2021
I felt like a sweet Christmas novella, and that’s what I got with this nice little book. I spotted it on Goodreads, read a great 5-star review from my friend Janette, and borrowed it with the Libby App.
Our protagonist Hart is the most popular kid in his 6th grade class. Mr. Meinart is the strict chorus instructor who has just learned his job will be eliminated right after Christmas because of loss of funding for the school’s music program. As a brief digression, why does bad stuff at work always happen on Friday afternoons or right before a holiday???
Anyway, Hart does a naughty deed in chorus, and Mr. Meinert loses it and subsequently loses control of the class. To get back at all involved, Mr. Meinert puts the responsibility of organizing the 6th grade chorus Christmas program in the hands of the kids. They have only 2 weeks to put the show together.
The rest of the story focuses on how this adventure unfolds. How can a group of 70 kids put together a Christmas show with all agreeing on the endless details? And can these kids deliver a program that reflects the true meaning of Christmas? Remember, they only have a limited number of class periods to attempt to pull this off. Plus, they are all just 11 years old.
This is a heartwarming tale that fills my criteria for the best kind of Christmas story. There is no commercialism, a wise soul is present to help out whoever is struggling, there is no heated romance, and the true meaning of Christmas is realized. Perfect.
Our protagonist Hart is the most popular kid in his 6th grade class. Mr. Meinart is the strict chorus instructor who has just learned his job will be eliminated right after Christmas because of loss of funding for the school’s music program. As a brief digression, why does bad stuff at work always happen on Friday afternoons or right before a holiday???
Anyway, Hart does a naughty deed in chorus, and Mr. Meinert loses it and subsequently loses control of the class. To get back at all involved, Mr. Meinert puts the responsibility of organizing the 6th grade chorus Christmas program in the hands of the kids. They have only 2 weeks to put the show together.
The rest of the story focuses on how this adventure unfolds. How can a group of 70 kids put together a Christmas show with all agreeing on the endless details? And can these kids deliver a program that reflects the true meaning of Christmas? Remember, they only have a limited number of class periods to attempt to pull this off. Plus, they are all just 11 years old.
This is a heartwarming tale that fills my criteria for the best kind of Christmas story. There is no commercialism, a wise soul is present to help out whoever is struggling, there is no heated romance, and the true meaning of Christmas is realized. Perfect.
August 10, 2021
Scribd.com English text, and translation for Portuguese + audio in English from Google Translate.
Synopsys: "A moving holiday story from New York Times bestselling author Andrew Clements. For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything -- all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart's errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it's the last straw for the chorus director, who's just learned he's about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It's all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.
Hart soon discovers there's a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well -- it's really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last."
Synopsys: "A moving holiday story from New York Times bestselling author Andrew Clements. For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything -- all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart's errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it's the last straw for the chorus director, who's just learned he's about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It's all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.
Hart soon discovers there's a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well -- it's really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last."
December 11, 2021
Okay, I really, really think this book would have been more powerful if it had been solely from Hart's POV. Including the teacher's scenes weakened it, because it felt like being told how to feel about his situation. Otherwise, I loved the idea of a teacher who gets fed up with his students' lack of interest and sometimes outright disrespect and turns the holiday concert over to them. The actual progression of this choice--from the initial excitement to the arguments to the solution--works very well. It's just that if we didn't know that this was the last holiday concert, the final scene between Hart and his teacher would have been a real gut punch. Instead, the book was entertaining--I'm not sure Andrew Clements knows how to write a boring book--but doesn't rise to the heights I believe the concept was capable of.
June 2, 2013
While I was reading this book, I was thinking," What kind of teacher would let a child in charge of a big concert?" I also tried to think of my friends if they were in charge of a concert.
I thought the teacher in this book took a big risk by letting a child be in charge. It also explained to me that some teachers trust even one of the troublemakers.
The book is about a music teacher who has a big concert coming up. But there is one problem. He can't handle the kids. So he just sits around and lets the kids figure it out.
The kids want one kid to be in charge, but they can't figure out who it should be. They take a vote and the teacher is not surprised. One of the most popular kids win. They think they can just fool around, but the kid in charge won't let them.
It turns out to be a great concert thanks to one special person.
I thought the teacher in this book took a big risk by letting a child be in charge. It also explained to me that some teachers trust even one of the troublemakers.
The book is about a music teacher who has a big concert coming up. But there is one problem. He can't handle the kids. So he just sits around and lets the kids figure it out.
The kids want one kid to be in charge, but they can't figure out who it should be. They take a vote and the teacher is not surprised. One of the most popular kids win. They think they can just fool around, but the kid in charge won't let them.
It turns out to be a great concert thanks to one special person.
December 26, 2016
3.5 Stars
Anyone in education will appreciate this book. But more importantly, this has kid appeal. Here a mischievous boy gets to direct an entire class in creating an anything-goes school holiday production without adult interference. Yep, Andrew Clements knows how to relate to kids. All his books have been read-aloud hits!
Anyone in education will appreciate this book. But more importantly, this has kid appeal. Here a mischievous boy gets to direct an entire class in creating an anything-goes school holiday production without adult interference. Yep, Andrew Clements knows how to relate to kids. All his books have been read-aloud hits!
November 29, 2015
Another remarkable treasure written by Andrew Clements, one of the most insightful, original, beneficial, and pro-social authors I've ever encountered! In this tale, he introduces the reader to the concepts behind "student-focused" educational strategies and contrasts them with the outdated, less successful, teacher-oriented teaching approaches. As a thematic, student-centered teacher, myself, I found this book to be every bit as valuable for teachers and parents (along with other adults) to read, as students of any age.
Most people who are not teachers or not recently educated in student-oriented teaching programs, would likely be appalled at hearing the idea that a "teacher" does not often teach "best", when dictating every aspect of the curriculum - either the process or the content of that curriculum. Modern teaching strategies incorporate enormous quantities of knowledge gained via educational psychology research.
That research consistently shows that when a student of any age is permitted to personalize or make personally meaningful educational concepts that are being taught, then that student learns more quickly, easily, and permanently, than if they are instructed via "teacher-centered" dictations. By using each student's interests, passions, strengths, and personal experiences, instead of generic, meaningless situations/songs/stories/math problems, etc., the student becomes more personally invested in their own education and the processes involved in moving it forward to the next levels and into broader arenas.
Thus, the students in this story may not have advanced their vocal skills or music-reading skills as much as within a conventional program preparation would have typically taught them. However, they learned far more about many more subjects that are every bit as important for them to know, both to be successful in school and life, as well as, to achieve in other academic arenas. They know better how a genuine democracy works and the trickiness of engaging in that pathway, versus using more of a dictatorship model.
In addition, they learned just how much work, space, time, and organization are required to put on an elaborate program, especially after they wasted a considerable amount of that valuable time. Lots of research was required, by the students, to determine how practical their song choices, space utilization choices, costume and decor choices, volunteer help resources, and more actually were (instead of merely romanticizing those aspects of any group performance - as would be more typical for students of their age, as they seldom get to do the "hands-on" hard work involved in sorting out those details). They were forced to confront the differences between a concert and a talent show, along with sorting out the purposes of each of those two types of entertainment.
By using a central, organizing theme, they were able to shine fresh light on what is so very typically a dry, boring school holiday ritual - light that was so fresh and engaging, the audience was brought to tears. That only happened because the concert genuinely MATTERED to the student performers, who had stamped the entire event with their own perspectives, values, experiences, abilities, and hopes. When students are allowed to bring their own passions into a classroom, then their learning comes "alive", mattering not only to them but to all those in contact with them. It motivates them to learn in all sorts of ways and on levels that the conventional "teacher-centered" model does not. However, it is an uncomfortable new way for many experienced teachers to shift into using. They're used to making all of the decisions and choices in their classrooms and often become fearful when students are allowed more freedom to select the direction or focus of their learning activities.
As was evidenced in this story, principals, administrators, and parents, too, often become fearful when students are allowed to become more self-directed in their learning. It's not the way the older generations were taught, so it worries them, not only regarding student safety, but more about the genuine messages such an educational approach teaches students - that "adults don't know everything, nor do they always know the best ways to motivate, teach, or lead, at all times and under all circumstances". This covert message often terrifies authority figures (like principals, administrators, and parents) who are far more concerned about maintaining their appearance of being "unerring, all-knowing, all-powerful dictator gods", than expanding the depth and breadth of student's educations. However, the proof is in the research that shows, unequivocally, that giving a student responsibility for her/his education, as often as possible and in as many ways as possible, is the fastest and best way to create a life-long learner who is invested in educating themselves about a huge range of topics, both inside and outside of school. That means using a "student-centered, thematic" approach, as much as possible.
This teacher is so delighted with how this author "showed" the readers, rather than "told" the readers, just how powerful new teaching strategies can be and are being, every single day, around the world, that I'm give the book a 5 star rating! BRAVO to all involved!!!!
Most people who are not teachers or not recently educated in student-oriented teaching programs, would likely be appalled at hearing the idea that a "teacher" does not often teach "best", when dictating every aspect of the curriculum - either the process or the content of that curriculum. Modern teaching strategies incorporate enormous quantities of knowledge gained via educational psychology research.
That research consistently shows that when a student of any age is permitted to personalize or make personally meaningful educational concepts that are being taught, then that student learns more quickly, easily, and permanently, than if they are instructed via "teacher-centered" dictations. By using each student's interests, passions, strengths, and personal experiences, instead of generic, meaningless situations/songs/stories/math problems, etc., the student becomes more personally invested in their own education and the processes involved in moving it forward to the next levels and into broader arenas.
Thus, the students in this story may not have advanced their vocal skills or music-reading skills as much as within a conventional program preparation would have typically taught them. However, they learned far more about many more subjects that are every bit as important for them to know, both to be successful in school and life, as well as, to achieve in other academic arenas. They know better how a genuine democracy works and the trickiness of engaging in that pathway, versus using more of a dictatorship model.
In addition, they learned just how much work, space, time, and organization are required to put on an elaborate program, especially after they wasted a considerable amount of that valuable time. Lots of research was required, by the students, to determine how practical their song choices, space utilization choices, costume and decor choices, volunteer help resources, and more actually were (instead of merely romanticizing those aspects of any group performance - as would be more typical for students of their age, as they seldom get to do the "hands-on" hard work involved in sorting out those details). They were forced to confront the differences between a concert and a talent show, along with sorting out the purposes of each of those two types of entertainment.
By using a central, organizing theme, they were able to shine fresh light on what is so very typically a dry, boring school holiday ritual - light that was so fresh and engaging, the audience was brought to tears. That only happened because the concert genuinely MATTERED to the student performers, who had stamped the entire event with their own perspectives, values, experiences, abilities, and hopes. When students are allowed to bring their own passions into a classroom, then their learning comes "alive", mattering not only to them but to all those in contact with them. It motivates them to learn in all sorts of ways and on levels that the conventional "teacher-centered" model does not. However, it is an uncomfortable new way for many experienced teachers to shift into using. They're used to making all of the decisions and choices in their classrooms and often become fearful when students are allowed more freedom to select the direction or focus of their learning activities.
As was evidenced in this story, principals, administrators, and parents, too, often become fearful when students are allowed to become more self-directed in their learning. It's not the way the older generations were taught, so it worries them, not only regarding student safety, but more about the genuine messages such an educational approach teaches students - that "adults don't know everything, nor do they always know the best ways to motivate, teach, or lead, at all times and under all circumstances". This covert message often terrifies authority figures (like principals, administrators, and parents) who are far more concerned about maintaining their appearance of being "unerring, all-knowing, all-powerful dictator gods", than expanding the depth and breadth of student's educations. However, the proof is in the research that shows, unequivocally, that giving a student responsibility for her/his education, as often as possible and in as many ways as possible, is the fastest and best way to create a life-long learner who is invested in educating themselves about a huge range of topics, both inside and outside of school. That means using a "student-centered, thematic" approach, as much as possible.
This teacher is so delighted with how this author "showed" the readers, rather than "told" the readers, just how powerful new teaching strategies can be and are being, every single day, around the world, that I'm give the book a 5 star rating! BRAVO to all involved!!!!
February 2, 2024
Coming from a music educators perspective, overall this book was really cute, and gave me a good perspective on relinquishing control a little bit.
February 10, 2017
The Last Holiday Concert is a fun, short, little book that people of all ages can enjoy. The book's main character is Hart Evans, a popular boy at school. It start out in the first day of school and Hart had just transitioned from Collins Elementary School to Palmer Intermediate, a 6th grade only school where all the elementary schools meet up. One of Hart's classes is choir and Mr.Meinhart, the choir director, goes berzerk upon getting hit by one of Hart's rubber bands. So, he leaves Hart in charge of the choir and the holiday day concert hoping Hart will come to his senses. Hart, being the person he is, decides to take on the challenge. Hart decides to make the holiday concert the biggest one they've ever had, but will all the arguments, struggles, and limited time, will Hart Evans manage to pull it off? Find out by reading it by yourself. A few things I liked about this book is that the author, Andrew Clements, gives a vivid personality to Hart. One example is that although Hart may be popular at school, he is geeky at his house. The other thing is that it includes some of Mr.Meinhart's life to see his side of the story. The only thing I really disliked was the ending which i will not reveal due to spoilers.
November 20, 2023
Wow! Perfect for this season, and verrry entertaining! I love how Clements swapped povs between characters!
December 8, 2017
there is one lesson in this book you can learn: life sucks.
November 28, 2017
What if your teacher basically went on strike from teaching the class? What would you do? In this book, Mr. Meinart has has it with his choir class. He decides to let them be in charge of their holiday concert. Main character, Hart, has been voted to be in charge. How will he handle keeping the class under control? What will happen at the concert?
December 10, 2023
Like all Andrew Clements’ books, this one was a lot of fun. Fun characters and an exciting story.
However - I think it would have been better if the whole story had been told from Hart’s perspective. The few adult perspectives didn’t add to the story. If Hart had found out about the budget cuts and used the concert as a way to petition for why they needed to keep the chorus, it would have made the story a bit sweeter, no matter how it ended. That would make for a really fun story, with the addition of an important lesson for my students when I read this aloud in the classroom - The value of music education, the amount of work teachers put in, the importance of integrity.
However - I think it would have been better if the whole story had been told from Hart’s perspective. The few adult perspectives didn’t add to the story. If Hart had found out about the budget cuts and used the concert as a way to petition for why they needed to keep the chorus, it would have made the story a bit sweeter, no matter how it ended. That would make for a really fun story, with the addition of an important lesson for my students when I read this aloud in the classroom - The value of music education, the amount of work teachers put in, the importance of integrity.
November 20, 2018
The story line about the music teacher losing his job is irrelevant since the children are never made aware of this information and, therefore, never act upon it. Rather than all the emphasis placed on the adult characters (i.e. the teacher, the principal, the father), I would rather have seen the kids in the chorus work out their differences and Hart develop some real leadership. Instead, there's a lot of bickering between the children until the adult music teacher steps in and mediates their issues for them. This book definitely misses the mark.
December 11, 2022
Six years ago, I discovered the works of Andrew Clements. I was instantly hooked and have now read over 20 books by him. Many consider him the ‘master of school stories’, and I would agree. I have a dual form of dyslexia and did not learn to read until after grade 7. So I never read ‘school stories’ when I was young. That combined with having my own school aged children has instilled a great appreciation for the genre and specifically for the works of Andrew Clements. Clements passed away in 2019 his last novel was The Friendship War, which is an excellent volume. I set the goal of reading all of Clements’s works, but as my own children have grown these books had slid by the way side. I have now returned to them yet again. The stories I have read recently have inspired me to recommit to that goal.
This is another excellent read from Clements. The description of the book states:
“For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything -- all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart's errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it's the last straw for the chorus director, who's just learned he's about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It's all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.
Hart soon discovers there's a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well -- it's really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last.”
This is a quintessential ‘school story’ but it deals with a very unusual school. A school dedicated to only the 6th Grade. Hart saw this in a flash:
“Then, as the last group of kids sat down, Hart saw something he had never noticed before. What Hart saw was the complete sixth grade, almost four hundred students. The thought that came to him was like a vision, a burst of understanding.
And Hart said to himself, We’re the Palmer kids now!
In the town of Brentbury, kids went to kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grades at Collins Elementary School or at Newman Elementary School. Like two streams tumbling down different sides of the same hill, the Collins kids and the Newman kids bubbled along separately for six years. Those two streams of children flowed together for the first time at Palmer Intermediate, where they became a swirling pool of sixth graders. Palmer Intermediate School contained the sixth grade, the whole sixth grade, and nothing but the sixth grade.
Every fall it took a couple months for the new sixth graders to stop thinking of themselves as Newman kids or Collins kids. By October or November it began to sink in: We’re the Palmer kids now.”
And further on:
“Palmer kids. Looking around at all the sixth graders, Hart wrestled with the idea. He couldn’t put it into words, but he got a strange feeling—like he was looking at himself in the rearview mirror of a time machine. He saw that these four hundred kids were going to travel into the future with him. These were the kids he’d be on teams with in junior high and high school. They’d go to football games and dances together. They would get their driver’s licenses and go hang out at Peak’s Diner. These were the kids he would graduate from high school with, these Palmer kids. He was looking at his class, really looking at it for the first time.
Then Hart Evans, the visionary seer of the future, remembered the tangled wad of rubber bands in his pocket, and in a split second he was a sixth grade kid again.”
Hart has to step up once duly elected to run the Christmas Concert. He has a limited number of days, and a limited number of class hours to pull it all together. He soon realized he cannot be every’ones buddy and get the job done. But how to make it work, and get as many of his fellow chorus members on board is a life lesson.
“A few short weeks ago he had hoped Hart Evans would fall flat on his face. He had wanted the kid to hand the concert back, sit down, and shut up. Earlier today as he had talked with the principal, and then with the gym teachers and the custodians, Mr. Meinert had realized how important this concert had become to him. He wanted it to be a success.
None of this was about him—Mr. Meinert could see that now. In two weeks, this wouldn’t even be his school anymore. But after those two weeks, the kids—including Hart Evans—they would still be his students.
And this concert was their concert.”
This is a very moving story, following both Mr. Meinert and Hart Evans as they navigate the 6th grade world. One looking to establish his place as king of the class. The other trying to do a good job one last time on his last school concert, even though he is being made redundant by school board budget cuts. He cares for his kids and he cares for the school. This is another moving story that is a great look into growing, growing up and grown-ups. And how youth and adults interact and see the world differently.
This is another wonderful read from the pen of Andrew Clements, it is a great Middle Grade novel. A fantastic book for young readers, for the young at heart, and for those of us who just love a great story!
This is another excellent read from Clements. The description of the book states:
“For Hart Evans, being the most popular kid in sixth grade has its advantages. Kids look up to him, and all the teachers let him get away with anything -- all the teachers except the chorus director, Mr. Meinert. When Hart's errant rubber band hits Mr. Meinert on the neck during chorus practice, it's the last straw for the chorus director, who's just learned he's about to lose his job due to budget cuts. So he tells the class they can produce the big holiday concert on their own. Or not. It's all up to them. And who gets elected to run the show? The popular Mr. Hart Evans.
Hart soon discovers there's a big difference between popularity and leadership, and to his surprise, discovers something else as well -- it's really important to him that this be the best holiday concert ever, and even more important, that it not be the last.”
This is a quintessential ‘school story’ but it deals with a very unusual school. A school dedicated to only the 6th Grade. Hart saw this in a flash:
“Then, as the last group of kids sat down, Hart saw something he had never noticed before. What Hart saw was the complete sixth grade, almost four hundred students. The thought that came to him was like a vision, a burst of understanding.
And Hart said to himself, We’re the Palmer kids now!
In the town of Brentbury, kids went to kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grades at Collins Elementary School or at Newman Elementary School. Like two streams tumbling down different sides of the same hill, the Collins kids and the Newman kids bubbled along separately for six years. Those two streams of children flowed together for the first time at Palmer Intermediate, where they became a swirling pool of sixth graders. Palmer Intermediate School contained the sixth grade, the whole sixth grade, and nothing but the sixth grade.
Every fall it took a couple months for the new sixth graders to stop thinking of themselves as Newman kids or Collins kids. By October or November it began to sink in: We’re the Palmer kids now.”
And further on:
“Palmer kids. Looking around at all the sixth graders, Hart wrestled with the idea. He couldn’t put it into words, but he got a strange feeling—like he was looking at himself in the rearview mirror of a time machine. He saw that these four hundred kids were going to travel into the future with him. These were the kids he’d be on teams with in junior high and high school. They’d go to football games and dances together. They would get their driver’s licenses and go hang out at Peak’s Diner. These were the kids he would graduate from high school with, these Palmer kids. He was looking at his class, really looking at it for the first time.
Then Hart Evans, the visionary seer of the future, remembered the tangled wad of rubber bands in his pocket, and in a split second he was a sixth grade kid again.”
Hart has to step up once duly elected to run the Christmas Concert. He has a limited number of days, and a limited number of class hours to pull it all together. He soon realized he cannot be every’ones buddy and get the job done. But how to make it work, and get as many of his fellow chorus members on board is a life lesson.
“A few short weeks ago he had hoped Hart Evans would fall flat on his face. He had wanted the kid to hand the concert back, sit down, and shut up. Earlier today as he had talked with the principal, and then with the gym teachers and the custodians, Mr. Meinert had realized how important this concert had become to him. He wanted it to be a success.
None of this was about him—Mr. Meinert could see that now. In two weeks, this wouldn’t even be his school anymore. But after those two weeks, the kids—including Hart Evans—they would still be his students.
And this concert was their concert.”
This is a very moving story, following both Mr. Meinert and Hart Evans as they navigate the 6th grade world. One looking to establish his place as king of the class. The other trying to do a good job one last time on his last school concert, even though he is being made redundant by school board budget cuts. He cares for his kids and he cares for the school. This is another moving story that is a great look into growing, growing up and grown-ups. And how youth and adults interact and see the world differently.
This is another wonderful read from the pen of Andrew Clements, it is a great Middle Grade novel. A fantastic book for young readers, for the young at heart, and for those of us who just love a great story!
December 6, 2024
ETA: I bumped it up a star after reading it to myself this year. It's fun and sweet.
Very sweet read aloud. I'm a huge Clementa fan.
Very sweet read aloud. I'm a huge Clementa fan.
July 19, 2022
I read this to my daughter. We giggled at the teacher's immature behavior but it was all good in end. Very enjoyable with management lessons for all of us.
December 20, 2024
Full of fun and hilarious! This was exactly what I was hoping it would be. I also really appreciated the heartfelt ending.
December 23, 2023
Hart Evans was officially a Palmer kid—that wonderful immersion of sixth graders from Collins Elementary School and Newman Elementary School. Out of almost 400 kids, Hart was well on his way to becoming the most popular student at Palmer Intermediate School. But all that was about to change when he decided to make his uncool chorus class a little more fun. When you combine a sweeping arts budget cut with two misfired rubber bands and a disillusioned chorus director, you get one Hart Evans who is suddenly in charge of this year’s holiday concert. What started out as a joke turns into a battle of wills between the chorus director, Mr. Meinert, and Hart. With so much infighting and time quickly running out will Hart and his class deliver the best holiday concert…or the last?
I REALLY enjoyed this book. Not only does it accurately portray middle-school life, but I was delighted that it lacked the stereotypical “bad guys” that you often expect to see in school-related books targeted for this age range: the adult, authoritative figure being the oppressor or the stuck-up popular kid who belittles the weak. Clements avoids those overused pitfalls and instead delivers a heartfelt, sweet, and human story about a teacher feeling betrayed by the institution he loves and a popular kid who suddenly realizes that he can’t make everything right simply by pleasing everyone. Both Hart and Mr. Meinert may seem very different at first, but as the story progresses, we see how much alike they are in wanting to be appreciated and valued. They even learn how to work together and in a nice twist, the teacher realizes just how much he can learn from his students and the students understand just how much their teacher has to offer.
At a time when teachers are abandoning their profession at an alarming rate, Andrew Clements reminds us that everyone wants to feel valued and needed and teachers are no exception. He shows us that leading begins with listening and reminds us of the astounding impact that a teacher can have on learning.
One of my favorite authors, Michael Morpurgo, once wrote, “It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom." Facing dismissal and an overwhelming feeling of obsolescence, Mr. Meinert could have easily turned his back on his class and school, but he eventually realizes the reason that he became a teacher in the first place and that was to make a difference. And what a difference he made. Thank you teachers…everywhere.
We’re now posting videos of some of our book reviews! Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thedustyjacket or on Instagram @tdjreviews and join in on the fun!
I REALLY enjoyed this book. Not only does it accurately portray middle-school life, but I was delighted that it lacked the stereotypical “bad guys” that you often expect to see in school-related books targeted for this age range: the adult, authoritative figure being the oppressor or the stuck-up popular kid who belittles the weak. Clements avoids those overused pitfalls and instead delivers a heartfelt, sweet, and human story about a teacher feeling betrayed by the institution he loves and a popular kid who suddenly realizes that he can’t make everything right simply by pleasing everyone. Both Hart and Mr. Meinert may seem very different at first, but as the story progresses, we see how much alike they are in wanting to be appreciated and valued. They even learn how to work together and in a nice twist, the teacher realizes just how much he can learn from his students and the students understand just how much their teacher has to offer.
At a time when teachers are abandoning their profession at an alarming rate, Andrew Clements reminds us that everyone wants to feel valued and needed and teachers are no exception. He shows us that leading begins with listening and reminds us of the astounding impact that a teacher can have on learning.
One of my favorite authors, Michael Morpurgo, once wrote, “It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom." Facing dismissal and an overwhelming feeling of obsolescence, Mr. Meinert could have easily turned his back on his class and school, but he eventually realizes the reason that he became a teacher in the first place and that was to make a difference. And what a difference he made. Thank you teachers…everywhere.
We’re now posting videos of some of our book reviews! Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thedustyjacket or on Instagram @tdjreviews and join in on the fun!
June 4, 2025
I’ve enjoyed many of Andrew Clements’ works over the years, so when I saw this book while out thrift shopping, I knew I wanted to read it. I wasn’t surprised, once I started reading the book, to find myself sucked into the story—even though I’m well outside the intended audience age range for this book!
Clements does an excellent job of writing realistic, relatable characters. I loved both Hart Evans and Mr. Meinert in here, and loved that while Clements didn’t focus on describing them too much, things like a thorough description of a number 16 rubber band revealed what kind of a person Hart Evans was. It was also fun watching the teacher-student relationship in this story, especially as they were forced to work together in an unusual way due to different circumstances.
If you have children in the 8-12 year old age range who love clean, gripping fiction in realistic scenarios, I’d recommend you check out this book—and any other Andrew Clements titles you haven’t tried yet! This was a fun, fast-paced read, and I’m glad to have it on our shelf now, so I can share it with others.
Clements does an excellent job of writing realistic, relatable characters. I loved both Hart Evans and Mr. Meinert in here, and loved that while Clements didn’t focus on describing them too much, things like a thorough description of a number 16 rubber band revealed what kind of a person Hart Evans was. It was also fun watching the teacher-student relationship in this story, especially as they were forced to work together in an unusual way due to different circumstances.
If you have children in the 8-12 year old age range who love clean, gripping fiction in realistic scenarios, I’d recommend you check out this book—and any other Andrew Clements titles you haven’t tried yet! This was a fun, fast-paced read, and I’m glad to have it on our shelf now, so I can share it with others.
October 11, 2025
Easily my favorite Andrew Clements’ book! I loved how we got to know what was going on in Mr. Meinert’s head as well as Hart’s. The juxtaposition of a frazzled music teacher and the most popular kid at school worked really well in this and I was very touched by the discoveries made by all the characters.
A feel-good Christmas book for kids 9 and up as well as a great story to remember what happens when we trust kids to engage in project-based learning.
A feel-good Christmas book for kids 9 and up as well as a great story to remember what happens when we trust kids to engage in project-based learning.
December 5, 2020
3.5
setting: not specified but it feels like the E coast, esp re the traffic; Clements lives in Mass so I'm thinking that's about where he set this story
from the author's note:
I learned as I was writing that the story is really about the difference between popularity and leadership. It's also about the vital role the art and music teachers play in our public schools.
He succeeded admirably with those two goals, and that's why the story is a 3.5 and not a 3.
setting: not specified but it feels like the E coast, esp re the traffic; Clements lives in Mass so I'm thinking that's about where he set this story
from the author's note:
I learned as I was writing that the story is really about the difference between popularity and leadership. It's also about the vital role the art and music teachers play in our public schools.
He succeeded admirably with those two goals, and that's why the story is a 3.5 and not a 3.
December 11, 2017
The book was a good book with a great story line and the characters were really funny.
January 29, 2019
We have been enjoying reading all these Clements books aloud with our elementary-aged children. This is another gem - short and written with opportunities for empathy for students and teachers alike.
February 1, 2024
THIS COUNTS AS A BOOK I READ. It was alright, good ending.
January 5, 2025
This was ok. There were some good moments, but a lot of sixth grade bad attitudes and rude conversation. I don’t regret reading it, as we had some worthwhile debriefing discussions with the kids, but it’s a hard one to recommend without hesitation.
December 31, 2025
This was a fun holiday read aloud.
November 29, 2022
This is a fun read! A 6th grade choir class gets to plan their own holiday concert. At first there are many ideas and no one is happy until they all come together with a beautiful theme of peace.
#BookQuest categories=winter, judged by the cover, and person on the cover.
#BookQuest categories=winter, judged by the cover, and person on the cover.
April 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. The characters in this book all did a wonderful job. I think other people will also enjoy this book too.
Read
December 8, 2017I love it
December 15, 2017
Good. Not the best book but good it was boring
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