4.26 avg rating — 84,347 ratings

"Love this book. "Everyone is smart in different ways but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid." 6th Grade Ally Nickerson cannot read ~ the words jump on the page. Her dad is military and she has been to 7 schools in 7 years. She is a great in math and art and clever enough to fake her inability to read.

Ally is full of similes, hyperboles, and metaphors. She says things like.."I need attention like a fish needs a snorkel" Some made me laugh out loud. " In one chapter, Ally, Keisha, and Albert are baking and each has a responsibility. Ally is freaking out having to read the cookbook. She thinks "I'd rather be in charge of teaching cats to play hockey". After thinking this she starts to laugh as she visualizes a goalie cat with skates and a mouth guard. Needless to say, I visualized it as well. Thank you Lynda Mullaly Hunt for your story and also for giving us for Ally, Keisha, Albert, and of course Mr. Daniels. Also thank you to Kristin Logsdon for the great job with the jacket design! BTW: The chapter titles are awesome. "

4.16 avg rating — 4,517 ratings

"You have to read the whole book before making a judgment. While in the middle of reading I checked the reviews and saw all the 5 Star rating and thought .....Really????? But by the time I finished I totally had a smile on my face and said Yes! (However I am being very picky in that 5th graders are promoted to sixth grade.... wearing a cap n gown is silly as it isn't a graduation! )

As a Guidance Counselor in a high school for many years, we had homeless students. Actually homeless students who were AP /Honor students. (view spoiler)[ Most students want to help as Ari found out at the end (hide spoiler)]"