Product Description

Held back for a year in second grade, Richard can't seem to help getting into trouble, until he gets really interested in reading and helps his class in a special way.

Product Details

• Published on: 1986-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

From the Publisher
It's September again.

What does it mean for Richard "Beast" Best to be left back? It means being teased by his old friends while he's stuck facing the same old teacher in the same old classroom. He even has to take a special reading class with "babies" like Emily Arrow and Matthew Jackson. And just like last year, he can't help getting into trouble.

But with the help of Mrs. Paris, the reading teacher, Beast starts to enjoy reading and just might find a way to help the second grade win the school banner for best class.

From the Inside Flap
It's September again.What does it mean for Richard "Beast" Best to be left back? It means being teased by his old friends while he's stuck facing the same old teacher in the same old classroom. He even has to take a special reading class with "babies" like Emily Arrow and Matthew Jackson. And just like last year, he can't help getting into trouble.But with the help of Mrs. Paris, the reading teacher, Beast starts to enjoy reading and just might find a way to help the second grade win the school banner for best class.

Customer Reviews

Book #1--good basis for the Polk Street Series
Giff set this series off to a good start with this book 1. I read it when I was 9. It came in the mail from Weekly Reader Books (my dad sent away for those for me!) Every month I got books in the mail and this was one of them. At the time I didn't know it was a series, though.

A year after reading this book I could feel for Richard "Beast" when I, too, was left back (it was for circumstances beyond my control, but still!) In this book, Beast struggles to survive and fit in, suffers losing his friends, who advanced to the next grade and reject him. This book is so good!

A beast of a book
Reilly has a well-formed beginning and middle, but the end feels rushed and incomplete. So many different characters are introduced that there is little time to see them develop. The illustrations nicely complement the story and may help those with struggling imaginations or who read so slowly that they forget the story. The illustrations are spread through the text very well - it is never more than two or three pages before the next one. This means young readers will be turning pages more often and feel they are making progress. The story deals with some children who are sent out of the classroom for remedial reading. This may encourage readers older than my suggested late first to early third grade level.

Why 3 stars?:
The story is completely plot-driven. Even at this beginning stage of reading children are still capable of meaningful discussion of what they are reading, but this book doesn't provide much material for it. If kids don't associate the higher thinking that comes from reading, it will be viewed as a chore and they will no longer enjoy it. This book does not encourage students to get excited about reading, or share it with others.

The Beast in Ms. Rooney's Room
I thought this book was excellent because in the end Beast did his best! In the beginning, Beast was not paying attention. Beast was a left-back. I really liked when Beast helped his class to win the banner.