Starred review from June 1, 2014
Four lively adopted boys, two dads and a grouchy new neighbor star in this modern family comedy.Trying new things, dealing with difficult choices, and the joys and frustrations of life in a large family are all pieces of this humorous tale. Changing points of view in each chapter track each boy's particular issues as the third-person narrative chronicles the school year. Readers who get past the slow beginning will end up fully engaged with these characters and wanting more. Soccer-playing sixth-grader Sam stars in the school musical. Fourth-grader Jax can't find a way to connect with their unfriendly neighbor for an interview for a school report-and he's losing his best friend. Eli has chosen to spend his fourth-grade year at a school for academically gifted children that supports his talents but offers few physical outlets or social rewards. And who can believe in the existence of 6-year-old Frog's new friend when he's accompanied to kindergarten by an invisible cheetah? This book is notable for its matter-of-fact depiction of an atypical family, the same-sex couple and their ethnically diverse children-two white, one African-American, one adopted from India. The boys are very different from one another but closely tied with warm family bonds. Their banter is realistic, and the disorder of their everyday lives, convincing.The Fletcher family rules! (Fiction. 8-12)
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Starred review from June 1, 2014
Gr 3-6- With four brothers, a dog, a cat, school projects, soccer matches, and a grumpy neighbor, the Fletchers are your typical American family...with two dads, and siblings who are adopted kids from various ethnic backgrounds. While 12-year-old Sam ponders whether trying out for the school play will interfere with his identity as a soccer player, 10-year-old Jax negotiates changing friendships and a veteran project that involves talking to the unfriendly Vietnam vet next door. Meanwhile, Eli, also age 10, finds that his new, academically oriented school isn't everything he expected it would be, and six-year-old Frog attempts to convince his family that his kindergarten best friend is not imaginary. Turtles and kittens are requested, camping trips are taken, and holiday celebrations (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas) involve minor kitchen fires, missing turkeys, and other mishaps. Through it all, Dad and Papa complain about the mischief as often as they join in themselves. Although the tone is never preachy, the brothers nevertheless learn over the course of the year that identities can expand, friendships can evolve, and making mistakes is okay. With its semi-episodic structure, laugh-out-loud humor, and mix of zaniness and love, Levy's debut offers something truly significant: a middle-grade family story featuring gay parents and interracial families that is never about either issue. Fans of Beverly Cleary's Quimbys, Judy Blume's Hatchers, and, more recently, Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks will fervently hope that more Fletcher misadventures are yet to come.-Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 Two dads, four sons, one dog, one cat, one imaginary cheetah. That's the family Fletcher. This delightful offering is reminiscent of Jeanne Beardsall's Penderwicks books, along with other stories that hearken back to an earlier, golden age of family stories. Levy makes some bold choices here. The chapters are alternately narrated by the brothers, who each has his own problem to work through. Twelve-year-old Sam is an athlete but toying with acting; fourth-grader Eli thought he wanted to go to a strict academic school, but it's not working out; Jax, also in fourth grade, has to interview the grumpy neighbor for a project on veterans; and kindergartner Frog can't get anyone to believe his school pal isn't imaginary. If the book has one problem, it's excess. Four brothers and all their friends make for a lot of characters and a lot of story. However, the warmth of this family and the numerous issues that readers will easily identify with make this a welcome choice, especially for boys. An interview in a local paper explains how this family became one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)
September 1, 2014
Soccer. Mud fights. Knee hockey. Friends of all stripes. Schools old and new. The four adopted (and racially diverse) brothers and two dads of the Fletcher family take on these and more in this Penderwicks-esque chronicle of a year in their lives. There's macho Sam, twelve, who starts his sixth-grade year confident that he is a sports sort of guy and discovers that he likes performing in musicals. Then there is fourth grader Eli, who, having successfully convinced his parents to send him to a more academically rigorous school, is having second thoughts. As for Jax (slightly older than Eli but also in the fourth grade), he has a school assignment to interview a war veteran, and their neighbor, Mr. Nelson, seems perfect. There's just one problem: he's too grouchy to approach. Finally, there is Frog, who has just started kindergarten along with a (seemingly) imaginary best friend. Focusing each chapter on one boy while still keeping the whole family in the picture, Levy provides a compelling, compassionate, and frequently hilarious look at their daily concerns. Family rituals such as each boy getting the meal of his choice on the first day of school are presented with warmth and humor. By book's end readers will want to be part of (or at least friends with) this delightful family. monica edinger
(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2015
Four adopted (and racially diverse) brothers and two dads star in this Penderwicks-esque chronicle of a year in their lives. Focusing each chapter on one boy while still keeping the whole family in the picture, Levy provides a compelling, compassionate, and frequently hilarious look at their daily concerns. Readers will want to be part of (or at least friends with) this delightful family.
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)