When was the last time you had a day when things went from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong?
Years ago, my oldest daughter read Ida B… and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World in a book club in elementary school and got to attend a book signing with the author Katherine Hannigan at a local bookstore. Being a teacher, I read the book and instantly fell in love with the story, all the various characters and the strong emotions the story described when Ida B’s life suddenly goes from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong.
I knew it would make a good read aloud book for my fourth grade class launching many discussions, teachable moments, and language arts examples. The description of how much the dog Rufus drools is a great one for figurative language examples. Ida B is just a great book all around.
The book is gentle in some areas: very general description of Mama’s illness and strong in others: Ida B’s thoughts on many topics are bold and self-deprecating. Ida B believes that there is never enough time in the world for all the fun plans she has and this certainly proves to be true when she has to go back to public school after being home schooled. If you can get past the fact that she talks to the trees as her imaginary friends, this realistic fiction book is relatable to both kids and adults.
I’ve read it aloud many times at school, at home, and to house guests on vacation! Watching Ida B mature and take responsibility for her actions are some of the rewards of the book along with belly laughs at her hilarious thoughts and actions.
Ida B is the suggested book for your first Backyard Book Club. Buy the kit here. Buy the book here. Preread the book while you set up the book club.
Want more Katherine Hannigan books? Check out her website. I met her when Ida B was just a young book and it’s cool to see her grow as an author and write more books. Read her own story here.
Want more read aloud book ideas? Two Katherine Hannigan books are on this list.
Table Talk: What book have you read recently with a strong and opinionated main character? What children’s chapter books have strong female main characters?