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Book
Review: My Name Is Brain/Brian by Jean Betancourt
This is one of a growing number of books
about students with learning disabilities. Others already
reviewed on this site are:
Title, Author & Publisher:
My Name Is Brain/Brian by Jean Betancourt. Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard Books, 1980.
Length: 128 pages, no
illustrations.
Print size: fairly small
(typical 'chapter book')
Other readability/instructional
issues -
This book is written in the first person, in chronological
order. Unlike _Freak the Mighty_ and its sequel, the narrator
Sam's reading disability is a focal point of the book, though
not as central as in _Do Bananas Chew Gum?_. It's a little
bit easier to read than _Bananas_.
Summary: Brian has two
thoughts for the new sixth grade year -- that he really "can
do it this time" and, with his friends in the Joker's
Club, that a "Joke a Day Brings Relief." There are
many threads weaving through the story, as Brian negotiates
troubles with homework and academics (and finds creative ways
to do projects and reports), and learns the limits of friendships
when some of the jokes are on him and his "friends"
do things that will get him into trouble.
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.
tomorrow |
hideout |
vacation |
teasing |
depressed |
skinniest |
Isabel |
August |
divvy |
cereal |
karate |
celebrate |
immediately |
millionaires |
excused |
cooties |
brilliant |
incredible |
discouraged |
Connecticut |
impressive |
karate |
combustion |
research |
organizing |
syllables |
automatically |
spaghetti |
|