Room 101

by Mary T. Wilkinson

David Anderson, who has always been educated in a private faith-based school, finds he must go to public school for his 6th grade year. Terrified that he will be bullied because of his small size, his mother takes him over to the school, Milltown Elementary, for a tour of the building before classes start. The secretary shows him inside of every room except for Room 101. When he asks what goes on there, she tells him that he will never need to go into that room. Now his curiosity gets the best of him and he must find out what goes on in Room 101. On the first day of school, he peeks in the window of Room 101 and sees something that will change his life during the next nine months for the better. Then David helps to change the lives and attitudes of the students, their parents, and the whole community of Milltown because of what he learns about Room 101.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2017

About the author

Mary T. Wilkinson is the second oldest of thirteen children. She loved reading and telling stories to her siblings. She decided to be a teacher and graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education. Mary met her husband, Paul, there. They married and raised three children; Ben, Bob, and Maria. Mary taught almost 30 years in public school. She became an Indiana Writing Project Fellow at Ball State University. There she put the beginnings of her first novel, Call Me Lizzy, on paper. Encouraged by her IWP fellows and her family, she decided to pursue a career in writing. Call Me Lizzy is an inspiring example of her work.

Reviews

[Tara Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary T. Wilkinson understands middle grade readers. Her career as a teacher pays big dividends in this realistc chapter book for young readers. As my nine-year-old daughter put it, “She writes realistic fiction really well. Some authors try, but it’s just not this good.” From understanding the way kids think to their daily routines at school, Mary T. Wilkinson gets it right.

Things my daughter could relate to:
- moving to a new school
- making new friends
- dealing with bullies
- academic competition

She also enjoyed:
- The mystery of what’s behind room 101
- Attempting to spell the words in the spelling bee competition
- The short chapters. So many nights of, “We can’t stop there! One more, please!”

It can be difficult to find books for a precocious third grader that are challenging in just the right ways, and this was perfect.

This book does have an overtly Christian perspective, and for many that will be a bonus, but should not prevent others from enjoying it either. One of the things I appreciated the most was that his Christianity was only one quality of the main character, not his only defining characteristic. He is funny and insightful, but a typical kid struggling to do right by his friends and his school.