The Last Holiday Concert [Hardcover]

Andrew Clements (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2005

NO wear and ABSOLUTELY NO overstock/ remainder black marker slashes on page edges. Hardcover book is BRAND NEW and NEVER READ -NO dust jacket as issued! Pictorial hardcover has no blemishes -Book looks just like picture -- Book is crisp, tight, and clean -- you'll hear the book CRACK when opened!! - Published by Scholastic Books. From a dry/smoke free environment --- Book has NO names, tears, inscriptions, highlights, underlines, dog ears, loose pages. An exceptional copy! GIFT QUALITY!! NOT ex-library book with markings. I ship daily. Carefully packaged with bubble wrap for the journey and I provide email verification at time of shipment. Delivered in 6 -14 days (Standard) or 3 - 6 days (Expedited)-- additional delivery time required for AK, HI and APO. Book will ship same or next day! Customer service and satisfaction is a priority. Know EXACTLY what you are buying with my detailed description -- Full disclosure on all books all the time! Buy with confidence from an Amazon Pro-Merchant. Double click on our name -RED BICYCLE BOOKS - and find our STOREFRONT where you can see our complete and current inventory.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 166 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1st Scholastic Printing edition (2005)
• ISBN-10: 0439808987
• ISBN-13: 978-0439808989
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Most of my characters are fairly normal people who are dealing with the basics of everyday life--getting along with others, finding a place in the world, discovering talents, overcoming challenges, trying to have some wholesome fun along the way, and getting into some scrapes and a little mischief now and then, too. I guess I hope my readers will be able to see bits and pieces of themselves in the stories, particularly the novels that take place in and around school. School is a rich setting because schools and education are at the heart of every community. The stories that are set in school seem to resonate with kids, teachers, parents, librarians--readers of all ages. Everyone's life has been touched by school experiences. And I also hope, of course, that kids and others will enjoy reading, enjoy the use of language, enjoy my storytelling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Could Be Clements' Best Yet, January 7, 2005

By 

George Buttner "Agent0042" (Dayton, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Holiday Concert (Hardcover)

The events of "The Last Holiday Concert" begin with a boy flinging rubber bands during a choir practice which he considers to be incredibly boring. Irritated at this childish behavior and upset because his position will soon be eliminated, the instructor decides he's had enough. When very little disciplinary action is taken against the student, he lays down a challenge --- organizing the upcoming holiday concert will be all up to the students and he's stepping out of the matter entirely.

The boy who flung the rubber bands quickly takes charge, feeling that he could manage things much better than what the teacher had been doing. He soon finds that matters aren't as simple as he thought and that without guidance, things are getting out of control. But with help, he and the class find themselves on the way to a holiday concert that will be one everyone in attendance will remember.

Those who have read many of Clement's past works will find that things go rather differently in this one than in some of his other stories. That's good thing and the ending of this book leaves a lot to think about.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into the Sixth-Grade Fray, December 12, 2004

By 

E. S. Will "a new leaf" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Holiday Concert (Hardcover)

(This review first appeared in the "Ephrata (Pa.) Review.")

Clements possesses the unsettling ability to throw readers smack dab into the rebellious chaos that is called middle school. In this story, readers are "caught" up in a sixth-grade chorus. The music teacher, upset that his job has been cut in a selective "reduction in work force" and angry with some students' antics, turns over the holiday concert's production to the students.

The class elects as its director popular Hart Evans, who dislikes chorus and who has already gotten into hot water with Mr. Meinert. As Hart learns how to manage his fractious peers, Mr. Meinert sees that allowing students to create their own unique production may be more important than musical perfection.

One strand of this lively story illuminates the relationship between freedom (democracy) and peace, the messy self-interested "lobbying" and eventual compromise that makes for peace-even in the sixth-grade classroom. After all, peace is the hope of the holiday season.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He's done it again!, September 29, 2004

By 

George Eliot "Tess" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Holiday Concert (Hardcover)

Andrew Clements creates multi-faceted characters with all the foilbles and frailties of real human beings, which is what makes them interesting. Hart Evans starts out as a smart-alecky kid intent on doing the minimum required of him. When his exasperated and soon-to-be unemployed chorus teacher, Mr. Meinert, decides to put Hart in charge of the school's holiday concert while taking a break, everyone is in for some rough times. This book takes an editorial stance against budget cuts for the arts in schools but doesn't get preachy. The ending is not a surprise; after all, this is an Andrew Clements book. But, the process through which the characters develop leadership, teamwork, and creativity is a wonder.