The Landry News
Gr 4-6-Cara Landry, entering as a new fifth-grade student in Mr. Larson's class, is quiet and unassuming. Barely noticed by classmates or her teacher, she publishes her first edition of the Landry News creating a transformation of teacher, students, and even herself. Her editorial states simply, "There is a teacher in the classroom, but he does not teach." Emerging from years of disillusionment, he begins to teach again. Journalism with all its ramifications and responsibilities are his tools. All the fifth-graders decide to help Cara publish the Landry News regularly as their class project. This gives the principal just the right tool to rid himself of Mr. Larson something he has waited for patiently. What begins as a small school conflict grows into a First Amendment Rights issue that solidifies friendships for, and love of Mr. Larson. As in Frindle (S&S;, 1996), author Andrew Clements (S&S;, 1999) uses an everyday classroom setting to illuminate words and their importance. Using clear and simple sentence structure, hard issues such as divorce, loyalty, and responsibility are presented with sensitivity and a lot of humor. Listeners will appreciate Cara's visit to the principal's office and her gauge, the "mad-o-meter," to assess the situation. Academic issues summarized such as newspaper analysis, the Constitution, and the First Amendment are introduced and briefly summarized. Actor Andrew McCarthy uses inflection and tone with subtle voice changes to make the fifth grade girls and boys and the stodgy principal vital and believable characters. This is an enjoyable story that also provides a great deal of information on some important and current issues.-Tina Hudak, St. Bernard's School, Riverdale, MDCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theAudio Cassetteedition.