Junkyard Wonders --- Lindsey Davis

Lit Review

Theme: Children With Special Needs

Book: Junkyard Wonders
by Patricia Polacco

Summary: This book is about a girl who lived in Michigan with her dad and grandma.  She has always gone to school in California and lived with her mom.  She is in a special education class and the one friend she had in Michigan won’t talk to her at school because she’s in the junkyard class.  These students get made fun of and begin to believe they are junk.  Their teacher, Mrs. Peterson, teaches them that a junkyard is filled with amazing, unique things that have potential, just like them.  They all go to a junkyard to pick out things and make something new.  One group decides to rebuild an airplane model.  The class decides to launch this airplane at the school science fair to show everyone what they have made.  This project and Mrs. Peterson made these students believe in themselves, and taught the whole school what the junkyard class really is.

Use: This could be used to explain what it means when friends have disabilities.  They are still people with talents and feelings, just like anyone else.

Appropriate Ages: This book would be good for 1^st grade and up.  I think it is too long for Kindergarten.