Matthew Swanson

1. This book would be great for students who enjoy graphic novels but who are interested in getting into chapter books. This book was definitely more of a chapter book, but there were some graphic novel elements through the use of speech bubbles.
2. Mentions of grief through the loss of Janet's father
3. Could be used for a lesson/activity on the difference between taking things literally vs. taking things figuratively. Example: "Live each day as if it were your last" Is that a literal saying or a figurative saying?
4. While this book is about a fictional story, there are some facts looped into it. Some facts are provided during the story itself, like when the reader got to learn more about the Taj Mahal as Ben was building the model, and others were given at the end of the story, like when the reader got to learn that about 3 billion fortune cookies are made each year.
5. Through the use of the latch hook rug, the author brings the theme of imperfections - not everything has to be perfect in order to be meaningful.… (mais)

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-5

Plot Summary: At a restaurant with his inattentive aunt, Ben receives a fortune that reads "live each day as if it were your last." Ben takes it seriously and sets and alarm for midnight so he can work on his bucket list. When he first wakes up, he's tired, but he manages to jot a few things down. When his parents finally wake up hours later, he tells them it could be the last day of their life and they all kick into high gear planning their own buckets lists. Ben travels from friend to neighbor to parent as he works on his bucket list. Will he get it all done in time? Will it really be the last day of his life?

Things he wants to accomplish: pick a ripe apple from a neighbor, eat a whole cake, jump over a hedge

Setting:

Characters:
Ben Yokoyama -
Janet - Ben's best friend and backyard neighbor, wants to be covered completely in post it notes and finish the latch hook rug that her dad started to make for her mom before he died
Mr. Hoggenweff - has a cat and spends time outside watering his hedge
Mona - kid overprotected by her mom who wraps her whole head in bandages when she's not really hurt
Mrs. Ezra - neighbor who has a large apple tree in her backyard, rumor is that she's a witch and the apples are magical
Patty and Eli -

Recurring Themes: friendship, family, devotion, neighbors, support, determination, brainstorm, love, goals

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: I started this book once a while ago and stopped reading after a few chapters because it wasn't my style of writing. However, I picked it up again to review and I finished it. Overall, it was good. It will have an audience for sure because of the easy readability and quirky plot. The information about fortune cookies at the end of the book was actually really interesting!

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium-fast because of the illustrations and easy to read text
Characters: all quirky in their own way
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity:

Readalikes: Mac B Kid Spy because they have the same easy readability and quirky plots.… (mais)