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How Oliver Olson Changed The World (2009)

by Claudia Mills(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0374334870 (ISBN13: 9780374334871)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

review 1: Junior Books ProjectCategory: Realistic FictionSource: Dr. KimmelThe book is a short read of 100 pages. The print is really big so the chapters may seem long, but really aren't. The front of the cover is a picture of a boy sitting at a school desk looking up at the planets hanging from the ceiling above him. This must be Oliver and he seems to be in deep thought or intrigued by the planets. On the back cover is a little question and answer trivia about parts of the book. The questions are very easy so you don't need to have read the book in order to answer them correctly. When you open up the book, the left jacket flap has a short summary of the story and a small bio of both the author and illustrator. On the right jacket flap are reviews for another one of Mills' stories,... more "Being Teddy Roosevelt." There are several illustrations throughout the book. These illustrations depict what is going on at that point in the book. Other than the illustration on the front cover, the other illustrations are in black and white and all the illustrations take up the whole page.This realistic fiction book is about a young third grader named Oliver. His class is learning about the planets and his teacher has assigned the class to make a diorama of the solar system and to write one big idea to send to the state Senator. Oliver's parents always seem to do everything for him--including his homework--but this time, he has the chance to do the project himself with his classmate, Crystal. Oliver usually is the type to stay quiet and let his parents run his life, but with the help of this project and Crystal, Oliver finds a voice within himself. He stands up to his parents about always doing everything for him, learns about the planet--or not so much anymore--Pluto, and how people can help "change the world" through legislation. This would be a good read for kids between the grades 3rd through 5th.I really enjoyed this book. The author had Oliver narrate the story so we were able to live through Oliver and see how he felt inside about the things going on in his life. I can relate to this story a little bit because I remember my mom helping me with my projects when I was younger also. It can get frustrating when parents are too involved in their kids' assignments/projects to where the student can't learn for himself. I can also relate in the sense that my parents were so strict when I was younger. It was nearly impossible for me and my sisters to be able to do anything outside the household. This would be a great book to introduce the solar system. Another great assignment to piggyback off from this book is to write to state legislators about things they can do to help make the world a better place. Students can learn about the roles of these legislators, what it takes to become one, and how ideas can be turned into laws.
review 2: 1. Junior Book, contemporary realism2. Oliver Olson never gets to do anything. His parents help him with his homework and worry about him. He decides to do something different with his diorama and in the process changes his life. 3. This is a wonderful little book all about how even little decisions can make a big change. The book really gives a child confidence that they can make changes. They can get their parents to change the way they treat them (about some things). They can change the way they look at things. They can become who they want to be if they make a change. Even Oliver discovers that he can tell his parents what he wants without worrying that they will say anything but "No". This is a great book to encourage kids to make their own choices and to realize that even they can change the world. Or at least, their world. 4. This is a great book for younger readers. Oliver is similar to the reader, he is a ordinary third grader and he wants to do ordinary third grade things. It really allows the reader to relate to him. This is a great way to encourage kids to read. It is a great book, it is not too big or too short, it is a good book to ease into larger chapter books. less

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