Rachel Rude Rowdy

Rachel Rude Rowdy by Kalish, Ginny. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781569761274.

Rachel Rude Rowdy is just that: a fifth grader who borrows a pencil and sticks it up her nose just to cause a stink in her classroom. She is a grade-A pest, but also a young person with real strengths and weaknesses. Rachel’s story is a resource for reading and literature lessons that doubles as a natural foundation for a character-education program. Her experiences with the narrator, Jason (who finds Rachel quite annoying), will teach young readers about good and bad choices, causes and consequences, and empathy and compassion. Teachers, counselors, and parents will appreciate the clever narrative and accompanying comprehension and discussion questions, journal reflections, and broad range of multiple-intelligence-based activities. The story and characters can be used to provide a language to resolve conflicts and create a caring community in the classroom and beyond.