Jerry Spinelli is a master, perhaps the quintessential master, of writing fascinating characters and creating visceral excitement for his readers, giving us the feeling the story is going somewhere important and we won't want to miss what's coming next. Third Grade Angels, though shorter than most of Jerry Spinelli's books, contains that same irresistible sense of velocity, the gentle but constant pressure exerted through the plot that keeps us steadily moving forward in the story, that slight tenseness which always compels us to see what awaits on the other side of the page. Third Grade Angels is a prequel multiple decades in the offing, picking up nicely where Fourth Grade Rats ended, coloring in for us the background of how George and Joey met and the events of their third-grade school year before they showed up to fourth grade ready to act like rats (Joey a bit more cheerfully than George).
According to the song, "second-grade cats" are always followed by "third-grade angels", and George is happy for the opportunity to prove himself to his teacher and classmates as a bona fide angel. His proving ground becomes more crowded, however, when the teacher, Mrs. Simms, pulls out a paper halo and announces to the class that she will be awarding one such halo to a kid in class every week, the boy or girl who proves the most sincere and endearing angel of them all. George is immediately hooked; he has to find a way to win that halo first! While everyone in class has designs on taking the first halo home, not all of them have George's staying power to keep being good in everything they do even when it begins to feel a little dull. The new kid, Joey, isn't concerned with winning the halo at all. He knows he might win one eventually, but for now he's having too much fun playing the part of a slightly mischievous new third-grader to focus on being a stickler for the rules and working hard to win a paper trophy. As more kids lose interest in aggressive good-deed doing and leave the field wide open for George to claim his prize at the end of the week, it becomes clear one other boy is just as determined to be the inaugural winner of the halo, and he isn't going to let George coast home as the runaway victor. What can George do to separate himself as the clear choice for Mrs. Simms's good-behavior award?
How George responds to the close competition will demonstrate a lot about whether or not he is deserving of the award. Will he cut corners and try to make it look as if he has done good deeds he hasn't actually performed? Would he be above intentionally sabotaging the efforts of the other boy to win the halo? And how far will George be willing to go to prove his worthiness as a "third-grade angel"? The way George reacts when his treasured halo is on the line, and no one is there to observe his actions to see if they truly exemplify the spirit in which the award is given, is the most important factor to be revealed about George and his real motives, both to himself and others. What good is a prize for kindness, generosity and personal deference if it is won not with a spirit sincere in treating others well all the time, but rather to prove a point, or just out of a desire to be first in everything? As crunch time arrives and the identity of the halo's first winner remains in doubt, George may find that Mrs. Simms has more in mind for this exercise than temporarily incentivizing her kids to be better behaved in class. Genuine selflessness is a permanent attitude of the heart, and if George can grasp that illusive concept, he will earn his reward sooner or later.
The creative energy fairly crackles in all of Jerry Spinelli's novels, and Third Grade Angels is no exception. Rarely have I enjoyed more the light back-and-forth of banter and shared ideas between students, mostly George and Joey but with a few others mixed in, as well. George is in the process of figuring out what Mrs. Simms, his own mother and the other adults in his life want from him, and how that connects to his relations with kids his age, but George is a sensitive and ready listener, willing to change his mind even on matters that are important to him if that's what he needs to do. His pliability may be the best asset he has in learning how to adjust to the differences of life as a middle-elementary student, and I'd bet on George any day to come out standing on the other side. I think his third-grade school year is going to be a good one.
I liked Third Grade Angels, and was pleased to have a companion read to Fourth Grade Rats so many years after that first book debuted. Jerry Spinelli has retained his Midas touch down through the decades, one of the preeminent writers in the history of literature for young readers, and I am grateful for every book he has ever created. Thank you, Jerry Spinelli, for writing for us, and thank you for Third Grade Angels.