All of the Above

by Shelley Pearsall

Overview

Based on a true story, All of the Above is the delightful and suspenseful story of four inner city students and their quest to build the world's largest tetrahedron. Weaving together the different personal stories of the kids, their teacher, and the community that surrounds them, award-winning author Shelley Pearsall has written a vividly engaging story about the math, life and good-tasting barbecue. Filled with unexpected humor, poignant characters and quiet brilliance, All of the Above is a surprising gem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316115261
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/01/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	222,131
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	950L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

A former teacher and museum historian, Shelley Pearsall is now a full-time writer. Her first novel, Trouble Don't Last, won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. She lives in Akron, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-Exhausted by his efforts to teach math to apathetic middle schoolers, Mr. Collins proposes that his class attempt to build the world's largest tetrahedron structure. The resulting endeavor, described in alternating chapters by Mr. Collins and four of the students, builds more than geometry as readers come to see them as individuals and as a developing unit. They include artistic tough guy James Harris III, who insists that the individual tetrahedrons color coordinate; Marcel the Magnificent, who works vigorously at his father's barbecue grill; veteran foster child Sharice; and quietly ambitious Rhondell. Marcel's dad's recipes are sprinkled throughout. This novel is based on the true story of a Cleveland middle school tetrahedron built in 2002. Pearsall has a knack for creating strong narratives and characters that eschew predictability. While this solid, multivoiced offering is a hopeful one, the action is realistically gritty and true to its inner-city setting. The book may take a little hand-selling, but, like E. L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday (S & S, 1996), it is a feel-good read.-Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Cynical inner-city seventh graders are challenged by an odd idea from a math teacher. Frustrated that his students do not seem the least bit interested in learning, Mr. Collins proposes a contest to build the world's largest tetrahedron. Several students show up for the first meeting, a few because they want to do something new. One picks math club over failing the class and another does not have anywhere else to go. Armed with reams of paper and glue sticks, the students begin building the huge structure piece by piece. However, the rainbow hued composition is not the only thing they are gluing together. As the weeks pass, they realize that they are forming something much more than a claim to a world record. They are building their lives. Recipes for barbeque sauce, cake and cornbread separate chapters, told in several alternating voices. Smart and fast-paced, this story inspires as well as entertains. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews