There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

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Summary: Great and Funny Book!
Review: "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom" by Louis Sachar, was great from the very beginning. This book is about a boy named Bradley Chalkers who tells lots of lies. He likes to fight with teachers and girls at school. Bradley becomes friends with Carla, his counselor and his life starts to change. In the end, there is a meeting where Carla is fired. We recommend this book and think that everyone should read it!

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Summary: Poor Bradley!
Review: How would you feel if almost everyone in your school thought you were dumb? Well, that's what happened to Bradley. Everyone thought he was a dumb boy. Even his teacher. He sat on the back of the classroom and had no friends. One day, he met the new counselor, Carla, who wanted to help Bradley. At first, Bradley did not like her, but when he got to know her better, they became pretty good friends. Soon, there's a new boy in school and becomes Bradley's friend, but when time passes, he forgets about Bradley and makes new friends. Bradley feels bad about it. The reason I gave this book five stars is because it has everything in it. It has humor, sad parts, etc. Also, there is no boring part in this book. You should read it if you haven't.

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Summary: Teacher review of There's A Boy...
Review: I have read this book as a read-aloud to 4th and 5th graders. I believe it would work equally well with 6th. My students loved it. It's the story of Bradley Chaulkers who is probably an ADHD student with lots of social problems. He doesn't do his papers because he's afraid of failing, and he tried to annoy kids because it's easier than taking the risk of being rejecting. He finally does have a friend in the story, mainly due to the terrific school counselor who goes through some undeserved heartache of her her own. As teachers, we all know a Bradley at school - the kid who is always in trouble, always hyper, never in the right place at the right time, a kid that no one wants to be around and other kids freak when they have to sit by them! It is a terrific book that can be hilarious and heartbreaking. I think it helped my students to try to understand the "hard-to-tolerate" student. We discuss Bradley throughout the book to exchange thoughts and ideas. I truly can say that reading the book helped my kids to try to understand the Bradley kid in class. I highly recommend this book to teachers and middle readers! I am teaching reading to 6th, 7th and 8th graders this year and I am ordering this book as a novel to read with my 6th graders. Enjoy this book!

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Summary: My Favorite Novel of ALL Time
Review: I think i've read this book at least once a year since I was in the fourth grade, and I'm 19 now, so that would mean I've read it a little over 10 times. It's absolutely incredible. People do always give me funny looks when I say it's my favorite book, but I'm not going to lie to them. Sadly, my 10 year old copy is quite a bit dog eared now, so it's great to see they're still printing new editions.

There's A Boy is unlike a lot of other children's novels out there, even unlike a lot of other Sachar books. Where most kid's books offer simple, crazy set ups, a bit of conflict and an ultimately happy ending, There's A Boy doesn't do that. Instead, the setup is a little more sad than comical, the wacky events are all very true to life and the ending is quite a bit more bittersweet than would be expected. But that's exactly what this book needed, if everything ended perfectly the point would be lost.

There is also so much to like about this book, in that sense. Bradley and Jeff are amazingly complex characters, and so are the minor ones, too, (Notice how Mrs. Ebbel wants Bradley to succeed but still blatantly ridicule him in front of the class "Of course, there was one F"). Carla might seem like she's on the edge of perfection, especially in the eyes of the children, but her SPOILER final letter to Bradley indicates a bit of empitness and sorrow in her life.

If there's any criticism of the book, and, yes, I do have some, it's how it treats the relationship between the younger male and female characters. I'm not against it, but the roles seem oddly stereotyped for a book that defies most cut-outs. The fight in the rain is a perfect example, and kid who's read half a dozen books knows how this one is going to turn out. And Colleen's affection for Jeff is another bothersome plot point. No fifth graders act like that, really. It's too bad Sachar felt like he needed to place these plots in there when the resolve at the birthday party seems forced and un real (we all know Bradley is crazy, but this crazy? I don't buy it).

My sort of dream for these past ten years has been to turn There's A Boy into a feature length film, possibly with the changes listed above. Not a kid's film, though, one aimed at adults that emphasizes the sadness and pain in the novel. It'll never happen, but it's fun to take a scene from the book and imagine it as a scene in a real drama movie. It could happen. I hope.

So buy the book! You won't be dissapointed but maybe a little teary-eyed by the end. I'll probably order this edition to keep up with the times. At least the cover design on this one is a little more colorful.

Rating:
Summary: An interest-keeper in the classroom!
Review: Mr. Sachar has used his ability to relate and empathize with the plight of the typical elementary school child brilliantly in this selection, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom. The main character in the book, Bradley Chalkers, is an unmotivated, lying, trouble-making fifth grade bully whose life is miserable and wants all those around him to be miserable in return. However, we are invited to witness a bit of human compassion in Bradley. Mr. Sachar has included scenes of Bradley in his bedroom, acting out life's plagues with his chipped, ceramic animals. Through these off-road glances periodically into Bradley's private life, Mr. Sachar is planting the seeds in our mind that all is not lost with Bradley.

We can all recall a child like Bradley. Mr. Sachar is gifted with the talent to describe Bradley with ideas that evoke familiarity in all of us: Bradley sits in the last seat, last row; there are no gold stars on the chart for Bradley; he never completes his homework and all the other students think of him as a monster. As Bradley becomes more willing to trust others, and, as others begin to see the good in him, the transformation to a decent person takes place.

I have used this piece as a chapter book I read aloud to my fourth grade students at the beginning of the school year. They could not wait until I turned the next page! It is a wonderful tool to discuss social problems that children face everyday. It is a story about self-acceptance and developing one's ability to display appropriate behaviors, even in the most of difficult situations. Mr. Sachar incorporates his effective writing methods to reach students at a simple level in which they can understand and contribute meaningfully in a discussion.

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Summary: Sachar shows off another funny to the world
Review: There's a Boy in the Girl's bathroom, by Louis Sachar is a very comical book. It is a funny way of telling the story of a boy and how he overcomes his problems with friends and school. Ten-year old Bradley Chalkers is one tough bully. He doesn't do his homework, he scribbles in school, and he doesn't have any friends; at least for a while. One day a new boy , Jeff Fishkin, comes to school. Jeff is an exception to Bradley's other classmates, who hate Bradley. Jeff actually wants to be friends with Bradley! Bradley doesn't know what to think. Bradley's teacher, concered about the scribbled on school work, starts sending him to the new school counselor, in hope of helping him pay attention. Bradley thinks the counselor, Carla Davis, is weird. She agrees to whatever he says, wears funny sweaters, and asks him to call her by her first name! Slowly Carla helps Bradley gain self confidence. This book will make you appreciate your friends more! This book taught me that difficult times can be rewarding, if you try your best at them.

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Summary: There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
Review: There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
By: Louis Sachar
Reviewed by: P. Kim
Period: 6

There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom is about a boy named Bradley Chaulkers that is hated by everyone in his class due to the trouble he causes. He doesn't do his homework, is a troublemaker, and also repeated a grade. Then a boy named Jeff Fishkins comes to his school and sort of becomes Bradley's friend. Soon Jeff decides to ditch Bradley to move to other friends. Everyone hated Bradley except Carla the new counselor. She enjoys talking to Bradley about his problems, and knows he can change into a better person. Bradley soon comes to Carla daily and with her help Bradley eventually changes into a better person.

I like this book for many reasons. One reason why I like this book is because it tells about a boy that has difficulty with the world in a humorous way. It gives great details about the life of Bradley Chaulkers. I also disliked the book because when I was hoping that the book would be about boys going into the girl's bathroom but when I started reading the first few chapters my smile turned upside down.

These are two of my favorite Quotes in the book, "Give me a dollar or I will spit on you." And, "I'll give you a dollar if you be my friend." I like these quotes because they are back-to-back sentences in which the whole conversation works out between Jeff Fishkins and Bradley Chaulkers.

My favorite part in "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom" is when Bradley is invited to a birthday party and has no clue what to do when he plays games there. He even forgets to wrap his birthday present. But, luckily he has guidance so he wouldn't have to be embarrassed. I like this part because it shows him doing embarrassing things in front of people.

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Summary: theres a boy in the grils bathroom
Review: There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom This book is about a boy named Bradley. He had a sister named Claudia. At the beginning of the story Bradley is a lot of trouble in school and pretends to be more tough than he is. He kept his desk a mess with waded up papers and other junk. He did not do his homework and in class he daydreamed and played with the stuff in his desk. I think he was in the fourth grade. One day a new boy came to their fourth grade class. His name was Jeff. One day he made a mistake and went to the girls bathroom. Near the end Bradley decided he wanted to be good in school. I really like this book. I think this book would be good for teenagers. I hope that others who read this book like it. Rating five stars

Rating:
Summary: THE BOY IN THE GIRL'S BATHROOM
Review: This book is hilarious, because Bradley talks to his glass friends and Bradley and Jeff run into the Girl's bathroom and they both get caught. Second, it made me cry at the end because he sent Ronnie away and Carla and Bradley's letters to each other had that effect on me. Also, when Bradley went to a birthday party he didn't know what to do unitil Jeff told him not to tell Colleen what he got for her. Outside Bradley sat at the table before he was supposed to and everyone laughed. My big sister read this to me a year ago. I got a hundred on my advanced reading test from liking this book so much.

Rating:
Summary: There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
Review: This book is the best book I've ever read. This boy namedBradley is struggling with social skills. He tells lies and stufflike that. He doesn't have any friends. Nobody understands his trouble. There is a new boy in his class, Jeff Fishkin, who is willing to be his friend. At home, he plays with toy animals, such as Ronnie the Rabbit and Bartholomew the Bear. Later in the book, there is a new counselor, Carla Davis.(Louis Sachar's wife is Carla.) Carla is the person who most understands him. She believes his farfetched stories. For some stupid reason, the school board thinks that there shouldn't be a counselor, so they replace her with computers. At one point, a classmate, Colleen Verigold, invites Bradley to her birthday party. Bradley had been to a birthday party three years ago, but went home because he sat on the cake in musical chairs. The people there didn't understand that Bradley didn't know how to play musical chairs. Bradley had a great time at Colleen's party. In the 47th and final chapter, Bradley gives Ronnie the Rabbit to Carla. Keep up the great work, Louis Sachar!