FernFolio

At the start of a new school year, Ms. Wurtz hides an empty notebook in the class’ writing centre.  On the first page of that notebook, she writes an invitation to her students to write and draw whatever they like, and adds that she will read their work at the end of every month. She adds a couple of rules: sign your name to your writing, and don’t tell others about the notebook but, rather, let them discover it on their own.
Over the next few weeks, eight students, four boys and four girls, find the notebook and write about their first days of school and their new class pet, a hermit crab named Crazy.  They write about their friendships and share their personal hobbies and interests.  They also take one another to task about small transgressions, but this exchange eventually leads to two classmates taking the notebook and hiding it in a school washroom.  There are tears and apologies before the class agrees to work together to write a story worthy of their teacher’s confidence in them.
Please Write in This Book is a nice story about the struggles of eight children to find and express their own identity while respecting the needs and opinions of the larger group.  I particularly liked that it is Jimmy, the boy who doesn’t like to read or write, who contributes the best part of the group’s story for Ms. Wurtz.  Entertainingly illustrated by Eric Brace, it is humourous read for both children and teachers!
FernFolio Editor