Dear Whiskers [Hardcover]

Ann Whitehead Nagda (Author), Stephanie Roth (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Jenny is discouraged when her second grade penpal turns out to be a new student from Saudi Arabia who does not speak English very well, but as she works with her they slowly become friends.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Fourth-grade Jenny longs to receive the praise that other students hear. As part of an assignment, she must write to a second grader pretending that she is a mouse living in the child's desk; unlike her classmates, Jenny struggles with the letter. When everyone begins receiving replies from their young pen pals, the girl is first embarrassed by her correspondent's brief missive, then put out by her pen pal's lack of interest in writing back. However, Jenny soon discovers that Sameera has just arrived from Saudi Arabia and is not fluent in English. This match was clearly made by an insightful pair of teachers, and before long the two girls become invaluable in boosting each other's self-esteem. This warm story with a positive message will make a great choice for newly independent readers, as a read-aloud, and as a wonderful introduction to a letter-writing unit.-Leslie S. Hilverding, Schuster Elementary School, El Paso, TX

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. When Jenny's fourth-grade class writes letters to the second-graders, she is paired with Sameera, a Saudi Arabian girl who knows little English. Though frustrated and discouraged over Sameera's lack of response to her letters and her overtures of friendship, Jenny perseveres. Finally, she makes a breakthrough that helps them both to feel better about themselves and each other. Vividly re-creating classroom culture, Nagda portrays the seesawing emotions of schoolchildren with empathy and finesse. Stephanie Roth's expressive illustrations capture the tone and characterization as well as the incidents of the story. A satisfying chapter book for young readers. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823414957
• ISBN-13: 978-0823414956
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whiskers Encourages Writing!, November 13, 2001

By 

Mary Peckham (Nampa, ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Whiskers (Hardcover)

Dear Whiskers is a wonderful children's book. As a fourth grade teacher, reading this book would encourage imaginative writing of my students. Children ranging in grades from second to fourth would enjoy this story of friendship and learning. I loved this book especially because it can be related to language arts and creative writing. There are many enrichment ideas that can be used with this particular book. Fourth grade children could be encouraged to write their own letters as an animal or other creature to a younger child. Second grade children would benefit from learning how to write letters. I think this book was delightful and shows students that getting to know someone through the use of shared reading can benefit not only an individual, but also an entire class.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dear Whiskers, November 13, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Dear Whiskers (Hardcover)

Dear Whiskers is the story of a fourth grade girl and her struggle with her second grade pen pal.
The main character, Jenny, is a fourth grader. She is assigned a second grade pen pal, Sameera. Jenny and Sameera have never met and they know nothing about each other. Jenny's struggle begins right away.
Throughout the book, Jenny is confronted with challenges involving Sameera. When Jenny (Whiskers) writes Sameera, Sameera doesn't answer and Jenny is disappointed to look around and see all the other students with letters. Later on in the book Jenny goes to the second grade classroom and finally meets Sameera. Jenny finds out that Sameera is from Saudi Arabia. Sameera can't speak very much English. Jenny struggles with this throughout the book.
In one scene Jenny goes to the second grade classroom again. She is planning on reading two books to Sameera. Sameera is nowhere to be found. When Jenny finds her she leads her back to the classroom. Jenny and Sameera sit down and read two books. Sameera never actually talks to Jenny but they understood each other a little better.
Throughout the story Jenny keeps going to see Sameera. Jenny kept asking her teacher for a new pen pal, but her teacher, Mrs. Steele, just said, "keep trying you can do it". You can tell Jenny makes a huge effort to help Sameera and be her friend.
At the very end of the book Sameera finally writes Jenny a letter. It says, "Dear Whiskers, I have a mouse in my desk. I like him. My friend Jenny made him."

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Story, August 2, 2008

By 

Songbirdscry "Avid Reader" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Whiskers (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my 9-year old niece and she absolutely loved it. She is a reluctant reader but she ended up reading the entire book in one sitting! She especially enjoyed reading about the friendship that developed between the two reluctant pen pals.
I choose this book for her for the cultural tie-ins and for the confidence building aspects. The main character Jenny has to think of a different solution to reach her pen-pal when she discovers that Sameera cannot write English well; while Sameera has to learn to believe in her abilities and not fear writing. Both characters grow not only as students, but also as self-confident individuals. A very positive read for any child.