Larger-Than-Life Lara

by Dandi Daley Mackall

Book Overview

When Lara Phelps walks into Laney Grafton's fourth-grade class, Laney feels the air change. Lara is fat. Really fat. Finally, there will be someone else for the boys to pick on, Laney thinks. But as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1496414306
• ISBN13: 9781496414304
• Release Date: November 2016
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Fat Lara Big Smile

Lara came in one day, and every-one started to giggle and stare. She was HUGE, very fat. So the kids started to call her Larger-Than-Life Lara. When a boy passed her a very mean note, Lara didn't say, "teacher, teacher! That boy just handed me a mean note!" The boy was about to go to the princibal's office for it, but Lara stopped her teacher and said a beautiful, nice poem about the boy and sat down. Now everyone would have tattled on them, and been glad they were at the princabals office. But not Lara. She memorized all of her lines for the play Fair Day by poems. She divided them up. Then, at the time of the play, the boy who had passed her the mean note splashed water balloons,and card-board pigs on her. Lara was about to cry, but then she smiled. While in the prinibals office with her parents, lara did not tell on who did that trich, even though she knew very well who did it. She left school that day, because her parents said that the kids here were too awful to lara. But then, as they were pulling out, every-one ran out with a sign, that said something nice about her, a poem. But the narrerator just said "THANKS" on her sign, but that was O.K for Larger than Life Lara. Lara was always smiling, no matter the situation. When we went to the book store, I picked up the book, and started reading! I couldn't stop, even when my brother started to bug me! I refused to leave before the book was finsihed. My parents said, "Time to Go," I never moved from my chair, and rthey said it 3 more times, but I never moved! Finally they just gave up and let me read until it was all done! I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad I stayed! It was worth it!

A Magical Story

There are not enough superlatives for this one. I read a Kirkus review that totally "got it" regarding the instructions for writing a book which are interwoven into the plot. Kirkus said, "Her explanation of how to write a book is just as interesting as the events that she's describing. Best of all, none of this detracts from the novel's emotional core." Absolutely true. This book is simply magical. Although for children, my husband and I read it aloud with not a kid in sight and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bravo!

An amazing read, a story within a story

With a voice reminiscent of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl attempts to tell the story of a classmate who changed the life of everyone she met. And in the telling, the narrator reveals her own tough life and the ray of hope she's shown. Every student should read this book for the poignant compassion, and every writing and language arts teacher should teach this book. It wasn't until I finished the story that I realized I'd learned how to tell, or write, a story. But it's all there. As soon as you finish this book, you'll want to read it again.