Reviewer (text)
Aimee Rogers
Novels in verse represent a format that has continued to gain popularity. Adding to the canon is THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY by Laura Shovan, a novel that will only add to that continued popularity, especially for intermediate grade readers. Shovan adds an additional twist onto the novel by telling the story through multiple viewpoints --- 18 of them, in fact.
As the title implies THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY follows the 18 students in Ms. Hill’s fifth grade class through their school year. Emerson Elementary, although beloved by current and former students and the surrounding neighborhood, is slated for demolition at the end of the year because of its deteriorating condition. Ms. Hill’s class is taking this ending particularly hard as Ms. Hill has decided to retire at the end of the year as well. She doesn’t have it in her to start over at a new school.
The story is structured around an assignment Ms. Hill gives her class each day, which is to write a poem. The poems will be placed into a time capsule to be buried where the school used to stand and to be opened in 25 years. Through the students’ daily poems, readers are told the events of the school. The poems represent a variety of different styles, forms and most importantly, perspectives.
Ms. Hill’s class is composed of 18 very diverse students. For example, there is a student with Asperger’s, an ELL student who is learning to speak English and twin sisters. The students are dealing with problems common to many fifth graders, such as crushes, bossy friends and divorced parents. Others are dealing with more unique problems, such as a mother who has been deployed, living in a food desert and a dying grandparent.
"One of my favorite aspects of THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY was that it showed the complexity of issues at a level that can be understood by intermediate grade readers."
Although each poem had a distinct voice that represented each character, it was often difficult to keep track of 18 different characters. The book was designed to assist readers with keeping the characters straight by including full body sketches of each student at the beginning of the book and character headshots with their names at the top of each page to indicate who was writing the poem. Even with these supports and the different voices in the poems, I experienced difficulty following the continuing storyline of each character. I read the book over multiple sittings, so perhaps if the book was read straight through this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but I don’t think that is a realistic expectation for the targeted audience.
One of my favorite aspects of THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY was that it showed the complexity of issues at a level that can be understood by intermediate grade readers. So often we, adults included, expect issues to be black and white and to have distinct “right” and “wrong” sides, but more often than not, most issues inhabit more of a gray area and it is this gray area that is highlighted in THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY. In an effort not to give away too much of the plot, I don’t want to write about specific examples from the novel in verse, but one example is the tearing down of the school. Obviously the students, teachers and members of the neighborhood will be impacted by the loss of Emerson Elementary, but there are potential benefits to the removal of Emerson Elementary as well. Shovan strives to show both the benefits and drawbacks of this issue and to ultimately reveal the gray area.
Overall I enjoyed THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, but I did struggle with juggling all 18 characters and I believe that other readers might struggle with this as well. However, I think that it is a good example of a novel in verse with multiple perspectives. Shovan supports readers’ understanding of poetry by including a section on reading poetry and the different poetic forms used throughout the book, including references to other poems. Shovan also provides poetry prompts to get readers writing their own poems.
Teaser
Laura Shovan’s engaging, big-hearted debut is a time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.
Promo
Laura Shovan’s engaging, big-hearted debut is a time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.
About the Book
Laura Shovan’s engaging, big-hearted debut is a time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.
Eighteen kids,
one year of poems,
one school set to close.
Two yellow bulldozers
crouched outside,
ready to eat the building
in one greedy gulp.
But look out, bulldozers.
Ms. Hill’s fifth-grade class
has plans for you.
They’re going to speak up
and work together
to save their school.
