Introduction
Juvenile literature is often written for children to help them understand the world around them and find their place. Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements is one example of such literary work. The book deals with a school year of fifth-grade girls and the diverse issues they have to tackle. This review addresses the major aspects related to the book including, but not confined to visual elements, the story, the author’s perspective, and the impact.
Visual Aspects
The cover page of the book is quite typical for literature for girls of pre-adolescent age as pink shades prevail. The abstract art illustrations are used to depict the narrator of the book, who is also one of the main characters. The illustrator, Jeanette Adams, who calls herself a contemporary expressionist, uses bright colors and mimics the drawing style of a fifth-grader (“Meet Jeanette Adams”). The artist emphasizes the utmost role of color in people’s lives, which is manifested in her illustration. Jeanette Adams could have been invited to work on the cover for her philosophy of constant motion and change, her focus on happiness and natural beauty (“Meet Jeanette Adams”). It is noteworthy that curved and diagonal lines prevail in the illustration. These shapes create a sense of a lack of balance, uncontrolled movement, and unpredictable outcomes. These are the major aspects of the life of a fifth-grade girl and the main characters of the book. The girls are trying to fit into the boundaries created for them by their parents, school, and society. However, irrespective of these limits, the girls’ life is full of unexpected events and decisions.
Vocabulary
As mentioned above, the book is about pre-teenage schoolchildren, and the primary audience is the corresponding age group. Middle-school female students are the target audience, which is clear from the topic discussed and the language used by the author. For instance, in the first pages of the book, the narrator uses such words as “a fat blond girl,” “staring silently,” “you’ve got to be kidding,” and “she’s gross” (DeClements 4). These phrases are typical of middle-school students who may be less polite than adults and may use quite mean words.
When listening to fifth-graders socializing with each other, it is obvious that the book under consideration perfectly conveys their ideas and mimics their vocabulary. The children reading the book use the same vocabulary when discussing it or talking about the topics and the language utilized by the author. The use of such comprehensible language may be one of the reasons for the popularity of the book among young girls. Young readers note that the book displays their life quite well as they also have to encounter similar issues, such as academic load, building interpersonal relationships, and so on.
Genre
As far as the genre of the book is concerned, it is realistic and can be defined as contemporary fiction. The book is a piece of realistic and contemporary fiction as it displays the daily experiences of fifth-graders. A complete school year serves as a time frame for the book, and no elements of other genres (suspense, thriller, mystery, and so on) cannot be found. The story can also be referred to as a motivational book as it helps children transfer to adolescence, unveiling the problems they may face and strategies to solve them.
The Author of the Book
As mentioned above, Barthe DeClements is the author of the book that was written in 1981. The precision of the author’s depictions of children’s experiences and their responses is evidence-based as the writer worked as a teacher and a psychologist working with children (Rayburn 224). Barthe DeClements earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1942 and her Master’s degree in 1970 (“Barthe Faith DeClements”). After her retirement, she devoted her full time to writing children’s books.
It is noteworthy that she was quite successful in this area. For instance, her Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade won Buckeye Children’s & Teen Book Award in 1981 (Buckeye Children’s & Teen Book Award). So, it is possible to note that she has helped children and adolescents through her teaching, counseling, and writing. DeClements’s experience as a psychologist played a substantial role in writing the book in question as she incorporated the experiences of her clients in the book. The author wanted to reach out and help more girls to go through some challenges of a pre-adolescent life.
Overview of the Book’s StoryLine
The book under review starts with the appearance of a new girl in the class. The new student is negatively accepted due to her physical shape and the limitations imposed by the educators on the entire class. The students were not allowed to share food with the new girl, Elsie, which was seen as a disastrous violation of their rights (and an opportunity to break a rule).
The girl also had quite inappropriate behavioral patterns due to the restrictions she had to endure. She stole money to buy food as her diet (broth and carrots) was unbearable for her. The narrator, Jenny, eventually sympathizes with Elsie and tries to help her. She arranges their tuition as Jenny has some mathematics issues, while Elsie needs money. Elsie has a narcissistic and negligent mother who is trying to find a new husband and provide for the family.
While the relationships between students improve and Elsie finds friends and manages to lose weight, her home problems cannot be solved that easily. The girl loses weight, and although she is far from being skinny, she needs new clothes. Her mother does not pay attention to these changes, and when the parents of Elsie’s classmates try to help her amend her clothes, she decides to take her daughter to a boarding school.
Eventually, the parents, the teachers, and the school medical staff manage to convince Elsie’s mother to let her stay. At the end of the school year, Elsie is quite a different person and is committed to further changes, which is also true for the narrator, who is more prepared for new challenges. It is noteworthy that the book under discussion is one in a series that deals with the life of school children throughout their middle-school years into their adolescence and young adult life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the book Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements is inspirational contemporary fiction written about and for middle-school students. The author depicts various issues, and challenges young girls have to face. These are school-related issues, home problems, as well as the dangers of the outside world. The book helps young readers to find something for themselves and choose a strategy to address their challenges. This book should be recommended for all fifth-graders who will definitely like this reading experience.
Works Cited
“Barthe Faith DeClements.” Prabook. 2021. Web.
Buckeye Children’s & Teen Book Award. Past Nominees & Winners, n.d., Web.
DeClements, Barthe. Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade. Penguin, 2008.
“Meet Jeanette Adams.” Jeanette Adams. n.d. Web.
Rayburn, Shane. “DeClements, Barthe.” The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, edited by Bernice E. Cullinan and Diane Goetz Person, A&C Black, 2005, pp. 224.