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Home > Reading Comprehension > book reviews > Dear Lola

Book Review: Dear Lola by Judie Angell

Title, Author & Publisher: Dear Lola by Judie Angell

Length: 166 pages, no illustrations

Print size: fairly small

Other readability/instructional issues -

This book is written in the first person, as she thinks and feels. There is a lot of dialogue in the story; the plot is linear (no foreshadowing), though it does begin with the main character remembering a dream. This is a great book for working on inferences and even better for analyzing social skills situations, as the conflict and tension of the plot revolve around the social behaviors in a small town. Since the last chapter is an epilogue, students could also predict what it will say.

This is a very good story for reading aloud and holds student interest well. It's also a good springboard for discussions about accepting your own and other peoples' differences, social behavior in terms of "inappropriate" or "appropriate," as well as at a more pragmatic level of what kinds of things people react to, how people can present their intentions as one thing (stopping by for a friendly "welcome") and really mean something else (trying to get information about the family).

Summary: People write letters asking "Dear Lola" for advice. When the story opens, "Lola" has recently turned 18 at the orphanage where he lives, and so he and 5 other kids leave and try to make it on their own, supported by "Lola's" steady income. Getting along proves a challenge, though, as neighbors wax curious about their "family." James is 13 and terrified of public places, Annie (the narrator) and Al-Willie are ten, Edmund is nine and somewhat impulsive, and Ben is five and swallows things when he gets anxious.

Typical words:

Typical multisyllable/irregular words - you may want to see how many of these words your students can identify before expecting them to read independently.

studies

electricity

custody

anchor

allowed

beautiful

stomach

bury

guardian

worried

Aurora

eerie

principal

vicinity

commotion

thievery

handkerchief

certainly

biography

business

caterpillar

hearing

clothes

petitioner

 

 

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