Summary
Holling Hoodhood is trying to survive seventh grade. He believes that his teacher hates him and all the eighth graders want to kill him, or at least humiliate him. His father is intent on winning the Chamber of Commerce's Businessman of the Year, in addition to always doing what it takes to win a bid for new business for his architectural design firm. This story goes through Holling's seventh grade year and takes him from being unsure where he stands in the world to knowing what it takes to try to become a man, and along the way he develops a love of Shakespeare's plays.
Schmidt, G. (2009). The Wednesday wars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
My Impression
It took awhile to get into this story. I'm not sure that middle school students will stick with it. If they do, they will love it. After a slow start, I really enjoyed the author's story. Holling helps us see what it was like to live in the late 1960's America. An unpopular war, hippies, missing soldiers, and parents that don't seem to understand are all present. Holling is trying to find his way amidst the uncertainty of the time.
Reviews
Gr 5-8–While the rest of the seventh graders at Camillo Junior High attend Hebrew school or catechism classes on Wednesday afternoons, Holling Hoodhood, a Presbyterian, must stay with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, and perform janitorial chores. The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement form the background for this powerful novel by Gary Schmidt (Clarion, 2007). Holling is pretty sure that Mrs. Baker despises him, and things only get worse when he proves to be inept at the jobs she gives him to do (he releases her two rats when cleaning their cage and gets chalk dust all over the cream puffs that were intended for the wives of American soldiers serving in Vietnam). The teacher announces that in the future they will spend their time together studying Shakespeare. Despite Holling's reservations, Shakespeare turns out to be not so bad after all, and he acquires a whole new vocabulary for cursing from the bard. This comes in handy when he's dealing with the bullies at school; trying to hold his own with his heartless, all business father; or when he must wear a yellow leotard with white feathers on the butt while performing in a Shakespearean production. Eventually, he realizes that Mrs. Baker really is his friend, and that he must be true to himself and his own purpose in life. Actor Joel Johnstone does a marvelous job as narrator, bringing the believable characters to life. A moving, compelling, often humorous novel.
Miller, K. (2007). The wednesday wars. School Library Journal, Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6474649.html
Suggestions for Use In Libraries
- American history book talk
- Use in conjunction with American history lesson about Vietnam War.
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