Book Report On Fish Can T Climb Trees

Fish Can’t Climb Trees

As mental health and disability awareness becomes more prominent, it’s extremely important for children to not only have a way to learn and engage in these concepts, but also allow children who struggle to reflect and feel recognised. Main Character Ally Nickerson, learns through the struggles of reading with dyslexia, but also learns about the value of real friends as she witnesses those all around her struggle to fit in. Fish in a Tree is an excellent book to be considered for the Little Free Library because of its over arching lesson of disability awareness and diversity, its ability to help struggling kids feel heard, and its reviews and awards that indicate extreme popularity among the 5th grade class room setting.

The main character Ally Nickerson struggles with dyslexia but hides it because she is afraid of how the other children might react. The reaction of how other children is so demeaning simply because they don’t understand the struggles she faces. In an Amazon review of the book, one person mention how that even if a child without a disability reads the book it's eye opening. It teaches others to be empathetic. A parent of a reader said, “any child reading it will learn a lot about how to treat people, how to empathize with people, and how to accept themselves.” (Fish in a Tree, Amazon). Not only does it help kids to emapathize, but it also is an accurate depiction of how disabilities work. The website Good Reads talks about the confusion that comes with disabilitys. How children might act out to those who deal with da isability. Though, Fish in a Tree is a great book to help kids understand this. A review written by Guest reviewer Maggie Moore says, “Fish in A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt will have you rooting for Ally while gaining an understanding of what it’s like to live with dyslexia. If you’re looking for a realistic feel-good book about adolescence, this will hit the spot.” (Good Reads, “Fish in a Tree by Linda Mulally

This book aids to self reflection and allows kids to understand themselves better too. An Amazon review written by a mother of an autistic child says, “This book has helped him feel better about his insecurities and helped him understand that he is not alone when it comes to growing up on the spectrum.” (Fish in a Tree, Amazon). It is imperative that a child has a mirror book and this acknowledgement growing up, so that later they don’t have problems with self image. Taking into perspective how detrimental it cab be to a child’s image to not have mirror books, Linda Mulally Hunt herself even talks about how the main character in her book learns to hide her inability. “she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb?” (Good Reads, “Fish in a Tree by Linda Mulally Hunt”). The unfortunate desicion to hide her dyslexia is because she fears resentment if her classmates and others thinking she is