Welcome back, Maple Mehta-Cohen

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Title:

Welcome back, Maple Mehta-Cohen

Author:

McGovern, Kate, author.

Nankani, Soneela, narrator.

Summary:

Maple Mehta-Cohen has been keeping a secret: she can't read all that well. She has an impressive vocabulary and loves dictating stories into her recorder, especially the adventures of a daring sleuth who's half Indian and half Jewish like Maple herself, but words on the page just don't seem to make sense to her. Despite all Maple's clever tricks to hide her troubles with reading, her teacher is on to her, and now Maple has to repeat fifth grade. Maple is devastated, what will her friends think? Will they forget about her? She uses her storytelling skills to convince her classmates that she's staying back as a special teacher's assistant. But as Maple navigates the loss of old friendships, the possibility of new ones, and facing her reading challenges head-on, her deception becomes harder to keep up. Can Maple begin to recognize her strengths, and to love herself, and her brain, just the way she is? Readers who have faced their trials with school and friendships will enjoy this heartwarming story and its bright, creative heroine.

Audience:

Middle grade.

General Note:

Title from web page.

Edition:

Unabridged.

Physical Description:

5 audio discs (6 hr.) ; 4 3/4 in.

Genre:

Audiobooks.

Subject Term:

Dyslexia -- Juvenile fiction.

Reading disability -- Juvenile fiction.

Grade repetition -- Juvenile fiction.

Schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Girls -- Juvenile fiction.

Racially mixed people -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Nankani, Soneela,

Publisher:

Brilliance Audio,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9781713587927

Publication Information:

[Grand Haven, Michigan] : Brilliance Audio, [2021]

Call Number:

CDB J MCGOVERN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003534867	Juvenile Books on CDs	MCGOVERN	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Maple is in fifth grade--again. Now everyone will find out she struggles with reading--or will they? An engaging read for anyone who has ever felt different.

Maple Mehta-Cohen has been keeping a secret: she can't read all that well. She has an impressive vocabulary and loves dictating stories into her recorder--especially the adventures of a daring sleuth who's half Indian and half Jewish like Maple herself--but words on the page just don't seem to make sense to her. Despite all Maple's clever tricks to hide her troubles with reading, her teacher is on to her, and now Maple has to repeat fifth grade. Maple is devastated--what will her friends think? Will they forget about her? She uses her storytelling skills to convince her classmates that she's staying back as a special teacher's assistant (because of budget cuts, you know). But as Maple navigates the loss of old friendships, the possibility of new ones, and facing her reading challenges head-on, her deception becomes harder to keep up. Can Maple begin to recognize her own strengths, and to love herself--and her brain--just the way she is? Readers who have faced their own trials with school and friendships will enjoy this heartwarming story and its bright, creative heroine.

Reviews (1)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--7--Maple Mehta-Cohen has a secret, and she has worked hard to make sure no one finds out. Maple loves to tell, and spends much of her time dictating, her stories about her half-Indian, half-Jewish sleuth into her recorder. But despite her storytelling ability and expansive vocabulary, Maple doesn't know how to read. Her teacher thought it best for Maple to repeat fifth grade so that she can get help with reading. But Maple is not sure about this plan. It means leaving her two best friends, Aislinn and Marigold, and having everyone wonder why she is still in fifth grade. When the school year starts, things aren't better. Maple's teacher asks her to help new kid Jack learn his way around the school, plus she must go to Ms. Fine's group--the one that is for students who can't read. When Jack asks why Maple is still in fifth grade, the lies start, and Maple isn't sure she can stop. She is caught telling stories to her new friends in her reading group, trying to keep her old friends who don't seem to want to spend time with a fifth-grader, and staying true to herself. Though poignant, with so many different things happening, the novel doesn't really get to the depth of Maple's reading struggles, or her issues with friends, leaving the ending feeling unresolved. VERDICT For young people who struggle with reading or feeling different because of other academic issues, Maple is a welcome protagonist.--Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb