Second Grade Holdout (Review #2), written by Audrey Vernick, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Naveen N.
Summary: Second Grade Holdout is about a child who is afraid of moving on. He was very successful in the first grade and experienced many new and exciting events. In addition, he was with his best friend Tyler. But as the second grade began, he was told to take school more seriously and he was separated from his best friend. Sad and confused, he went back to the first grade. Going back to the first grade meant he could experience all those amazing feelings he had, and he did not have to move on and become more responsible and mature. Although his parents didn’t approve, he didn’t care. The child had heard that second grade is difficult and liked his first grade experiences better. Then, he figures out that second grade is amazing and that he wants to move on and have new experiences, when is ultimately the reason why he changed his mind.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This children’s book can be used in the classroom and libraries in many ways. The point of the book is to demonstrate a child who does not want to move on but ends up becoming more mature and responsible as the story progresses. It is a great way to teach a child these lessons. Every child experiences moments where they want to stay at a certain place and do not want to move on if it means leaving behind good experiences and friends. Teachers and librarians can use that to demonstrate how children should want to have new experiences, as this book portrays the child as a person who wants to stay the same instead of exploring new things. The story also shows how people shouldn’t believe everything they hear from other people. This message is conveyed when Tyler’s sisters talk to the child, as they make second grade out to be a negative place, even though it’s not. The story also uses tone, character analysis and dialogue between the characters to convey those two main themes.