2018 School Spending Survey Report
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
272p. Delacorte. Jul. 2014. spiral $15.99. ISBN 9780385376525; lib. ed. $18.99. ISBN 9780385376549; ebk. ISBN 9780385376532.
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Gr 3–6— With four brothers, a dog, a cat, school projects, soccer matches, and a grumpy neighbor, the Fletchers are your typical American family…with two dads, and siblings who are adopted kids from various ethnic backgrounds. While 12-year-old Sam ponders whether trying out for the school play will interfere with his identity as a soccer player, 10-year-old Jax negotiates changing friendships and a veteran project that involves talking to the unfriendly Vietnam vet next door. Meanwhile, Eli, also age 10, finds that his new, academically oriented school isn't everything he expected it would be, and six-year-old Frog attempts to convince his family that his kindergarten best friend is not imaginary. Turtles and kittens are requested, camping trips are taken, and holiday celebrations (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas) involve minor kitchen fires, missing turkeys, and other mishaps. Through it all, Dad and Papa complain about the mischief as often as they join in themselves. Although the tone is never preachy, the brothers nevertheless learn over the course of the year that identities can expand, friendships can evolve, and making mistakes is okay. With its semi-episodic structure, laugh-out-loud humor, and mix of zaniness and love, Levy's debut offers something truly significant: a middle-grade family story featuring gay parents and interracial families that is never about either issue. Fans of Beverly Cleary's Quimbys, Judy Blume's Hatchers, and, more recently, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks will fervently hope that more Fletcher misadventures are yet to come.—Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJFour adopted (and racially diverse) brothers and two dads star in this Penderwicks-esque chronicle of a year in their lives. Focusing each chapter on one boy while still keeping the whole family in the picture, Levy provides a compelling, compassionate, and frequently hilarious look at their daily concerns. Readers will want to be part of (or at least friends with) this delightful family.
Soccer. Mud fights. Knee hockey. Friends of all stripes. Schools old and new. The four adopted (and racially diverse) brothers and two dads of the Fletcher family take on these and more in this Penderwicks-esque chronicle of a year in their lives. There's macho Sam, twelve, who starts his sixth-grade year confident that he is a sports sort of guy and discovers that he likes performing in musicals. Then there is fourth grader Eli, who, having successfully convinced his parents to send him to a more academically rigorous school, is having second thoughts. As for Jax (slightly older than Eli but also in the fourth grade), he has a school assignment to interview a war veteran, and their neighbor, Mr. Nelson, seems perfect. There's just one problem: he's too grouchy to approach. Finally, there is Frog, who has just started kindergarten along with a (seemingly) imaginary best friend. Focusing each chapter on one boy while still keeping the whole family in the picture, Levy provides a compelling, compassionate, and frequently hilarious look at their daily concerns. Family rituals such as each boy getting the meal of his choice on the first day of school are presented with warmth and humor. By book's end readers will want to be part of (or at least friends with) this delightful family. monica edinger
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