Jack Adrift: Fourth Grade Without a Clue (Jack Henry)

Rating:
Summary: Gantos is terrific!
Review: Jack Henry is back. The stories in this book weave together as Jack faces a new school with a nasty principal, a beautiful and smart teacher, irritating siblings, and parents who are preaching totally different approaches to success in life. The book has great humor and pathos. Gantos perfectly captures the mental state of boys at this age.

Some of the book's funniest moments are captured in the handwritten diary entries that precede the chapters. Be sure to read them. Also, given the fate of so many other Henry family pets, I have to admit I feared the worst when the vet tells Jack how to get his duck to put on new feathers. Like all his books, this one is a fun read aloud. You know the writing is terrific when listeners to the story put their hands over their eyes when the duck goes in the freezer.

Rating:
Summary: Great for children and adults!
Review: My fourth-grade son and I are reading "Jack Adrift" out loud to each other. We both love the book, which makes us laugh and nearly cry with the sensitive and humorous descriptions of a young boy's life. Gantos is an excellent writer, who really makes you feel sympathetic to the characters in "Jack Adrift." We are now eager to read his other books.