The Only Girl in School

 



Title: The Only Girl in School
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Author: Natalie Standiford
Major Awards: N/A
Grade Level: 4-6
Age: 8-12



Summary: Claire, the only girl in her small Maryland island school, recounts her fifth-grade year in a series of humorous yet poignant letters to her best friend who moved away. With Bess in California and Henry, her other best friend, ignoring her, Claire is lonely. She does have the girls’ bathroom to herself, transforming it into a cozy clubhouse where she can read and create wall drawings of her daily trials, which range from Yucky Gilbert’s relentless pursuit to kiss her to Webby’s bullying behavior. From the traditional annual elementary school square dance to the production of A Christmas Carol, in which she plays all female parts, from having hot sauce poured on her pizza to being tripped in soccer—nothing dampens Claire’s spunk. A champion in previous sailing regattas, Claire convinces Henry to crew for her; they are a team again. A touch of magical realism ensures Claire, Webby, and Henry’s success on their school project about local legend Smuggler Joe, thus cementing their friendship. Durfee’s cartoon-like illustrations nicely capture the book’s amusing tone and also affirm that Claire and her six classmates are white, though teacher Mr. Harper has dark skin.






Evaluation: This book could be very educational and relatable to students (not just girls) who have moved to a new school and face many factors like discrimination and may feel like they’re alone, which is why I would use this book in my class. This book also has Claire speaking about her life by writing to her best friend who moved away. With that, I could have my students to act like they had a best friend who lived far away and write them a letter about how their school life and personal life is going. 

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