Perfect book for level "O/P" readers! Love how the story is told from 4 perspectives! Four kids, four sets of parents, each with a "big" problem, and a happy ending! Loved it! ( )

Sophie Simon isn't interested in anything the typical third grader is interested in. She likes calculus and reading, and has no interest in making friends. She would rather be learning. Through the course of the book, Sophie learns that friends may not be so bad, and how to help her classmates. It's a great book for third graders, with a recipe added to the back that ties in with the story. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-5

Plot Summary: Sophie is a genius who would like nothing more than to read whatever she wants all day. Unfortunately, she has to deal with a dumb teacher who makes too many rules, school which is boring, and parents who want her to be more "well-adjusted" and force her to have friends. While waiting for the bus stop, Sophie's parents take out the calculus textbook from her backpack and throw it away. They cry hysterically that their child is not "well-adjusted" and ask her to go to Owen's birthday party. Sophie doesn't want to go.

But then at school, Daisy thinks that maybe Sophie can help her get out of her ballet recital that weekend. And Owen thinks that maybe Sophie can help him get his dream birthday present for the first time. Sophie doesn't want to help, until she finds a way that will help her get her graphic calculator. Will everything go as planned? Will Sophie be able to solve all of the problems?

Setting: somewhere with a pool in their backyard during the school year

Characters:
Sophie Simon - genius, loves reading, doesn't want friends
Mr. Maxwell & Mrs. Aileen Simon - exaggerated personalities, wants Sophie to be normal and celebrate when Sophie tells them to go away, call Sophie various food related nicknames, rely on Dr. Wanda on TV to tell them what children should be like
Mr. St. Cupid - mean teacher who makes up rules, doesn't know the kids are making fun of him when they call him Mr. St. Upid
Owen Luu - kid in Sophie's class, likes to be clean, his mom gives him bad birthday gifts because she thinks they are more exciting
Daisy Pete - kid in Sophie's class, wants to work in her parents pet shop forever even though they think that ballet is her ticket to the world
Madame Robespierre - mean ballet teacher who threatens to cut off toes if kids fall
Julie McGreevy - wants to be a journalist even though her father is a mathematician who wants her to love math

Recurring Themes: intelligence, genius, friendship, school, dreams, misunderstanding, problem solving, parenting styles

Controversial Issues:
pg 56-57 One of the characters is wondering if her father is really her father or if he got hit in the head after she was born. "Maybe, Julia thought, if she just whacked her father hard enough in the right spot, he'd go back to being the nice, normal, non-mathy dad he was before. But really, Julia knew that her father had alwasy been the same math nerd...so there most definitely was no need to whack her father of the head with something heavy."

Personal Thoughts: Very well written story. Not very surprising in terms of how the problem in the story would be solved but the writing style makes up for it. It was funny and amusing. Would be good as a readaloud.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: fast, repeated thoughts in characters head because all characters thought maybe their crazy parent wasn't really their parent
Characters: well developed, different chapters told through different kids perspectives
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

I read this article (http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/03/67-books-for-kids/) and promptly purchase some of the books. This was one. It was delightful! Sophie is the smartest girl in the world, and all she wants is a graphing calculator - and it takes the friends she didn't want to help her get it. Sophie was a hoot (without meaning to be) and I liked the seeing the adults from the child's perseptive. I highly recommend this book for the nerdy child and the nerdy child-at-heart!

Note: This book is for middle grade - meaning kids age six to nine. ( )

Cute story of a very, very smart third-grader who helps solve the parent-caused problems of three classmates all for a graphing calculator. Of the lot, Sophie's parents were really annoying. ( )