Sahara Special [Paperback]

Esme Raji Codell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2004 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Sahara Jones is going into fifth grade-again. Although she won't be "Sahara Special" anymore (special needs, that is), she doesn't expect this year to be any better than last year. Fifth grade is going to be different, though, because Sahara's class is getting a new teacher: Miss Pointy. From her eggplant-colored lipstick to the strange subjects she teaches, like "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she is like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. With Miss Pointy's help, Sahara just might find a way to redefine special for herself. The latest chapter in her book unfolds when her mother insists that she be taken out of special Ed. So Sahara is facing fifth grade in the regular classroom, again. But why even try to do the work, Sahara wonders, if everything just winds up in the counselor's file? Enter Miss Pointy, the new fifth-grade teacher. With her eggplant-colored lipstick, and strange subjects such as "Puzzling" and "Time Travel," she's like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. Through Miss Pointy's unusual teaching, storytelling, and quiet support, Sahara finds the courage to overcome her fears and prove which file shows her true self.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Esmé Raji Codell, author of the bestselling Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year, makes her children's book debut with the warm, funny novel Sahara Special. "Can't a woman get a divorce without her kid going special ed on her?" This is the question Sahara's mother asks her daughter after a huge stack of letters that she'd written to her dad (but never mailed) falls out of her locker and on to her teacher's feet. When those letters are confiscated and locked up in the school counselor's filing cabinet, Sahara decides she will stop supplying "evidence" to the school; she stops doing her assignments, and is subsequently paired up with a Special Needs teacher, a fate equivalent to being "the street person of a school." What no one knows is that the newly dubbed "Sahara Special" is really "Sahara Jones, Secret Writer," a girl who hides her Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures behind a public library shelf. No one, that is, until her show-stealing, deliciously unorthodox fifth-grade teacher Madame Poitier (Miss Pointy) arrives on the scene to remind her, so simply, that "a writer writes." Any child with a secret self (every child) will revel in Sahara's clear-sighted observations and sense of humor about a world that doesn't see who she really is. As in Sharon Creech's Love That Dog, readers will meet a likeable, difficult-at-first student and an extraordinary teacher who transforms lives by sharing her love of story and words. Highly recommended. (Ages 9 to 11) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-In this delightful first novel, readers meet Sahara Jones in the school hallway, where she's been pulled out of class for sessions with the Special Needs teacher. It seems that Sahara's official school file is filled with her letters to her father, who had left the family, instead of her completed assignments. Sahara is a secretive writer; she fills her journal at home, then rips out the pages and stuffs them on the public library shelves behind the 940s for someone to discover someday. At her mother's insistence, the girl is taken out of the Special Needs program but is forced to repeat fifth grade. Enter a new teacher, Madame Poitier, who encourages her class to do, to write, to be, as never before. Sahara is sweeter than Harriet the Spy, as needy and engaging as Ramona, and is sure to be a character whom children will want to read about and get to know. Codell's take on fifth graders, teachers, Special Needs students, and mothers is very funny, and underneath the humor glows real warmth and love. A special novel that readers will not be able to put down.
Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786816112
• ISBN-13: 978-0786816118
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Special Needs > Fiction

More About the Author

Esmé Raji Codell is the author of the acclaimed novel Sahara Special, winner of the IRA Children's Book Award, a Kirkus Editors' Choice for 2003, and a BookSense 76 #1 title; as well as a memoir for young readers, Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade. A former teacher, bookseller, and children's librarian, she lives with her husband and son in Chicago. Sahara Special and Sing a Song of Tuna Fish Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade are also available on audio from Listening Library.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Special, September 10, 2003

By 

S. Smith "Smitty" (Los Angeles, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sahara Special (Hardcover)

Esme Raji Codell has done the impossible-- she has written a book that transported me back in time to my own school girl days, and made me realize how miraculous life can be. Sahara Special is an insightful, funny and moving tale about a troubled, but talented young girl. Codell has an incredible ear for kids' voices that makes her first person narrator feel like a best friend. I recommend this book to kids dealing with divorce, life changes, and of course, the desire to write!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that's changed my life forever!, May 21, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sahara Special (Hardcover)

Sahara Special, opens eyes!!! The book is about a young 12 year old girl, who has troubles in school. People say she is special to be mean, just because she has issues, but she is really a remarkable girl who has a dream! She wants to become a writer more than anything. Sahara lives in a bad part of Chicago, where kids don't even know who their own father is. Unfortunatly Sahara is one of those kids. Her daddy walked out on the family, and it's having a huge problem with her, she doesn't know why he walked out on her mom, and her, and hinks it's her fault. Since Sahara had issues with her dad leaving, she started writing notes and thoughts to her dad, and she'd shove them in her desk. One day while the school counsler was in the room all the notes fell out of her desk, and on to the floor. the Counsler saw the notes and actually read them, and she decided Sahara needed counseling, so they put her in this special program for challenged kids. Sahara didn't like it one bit, so she got out of it, but got held back in school. The following year in school she got a new teacher named Miss. Pointy, who was wonderful and helped Sahara realize that Sahara was special, but in a good way! This book opened my eyes to what some kids go through!! I'm glad I read it, and it has a very possitive message! The author is wonderful! I hope U read it too!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Testament to any student who is not quite fitting in, October 5, 2008

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sahara Special (Paperback)

Wow! I can't even remember why I bought this book in the first place, but I think I had something like a good vibe that proved to be very much correct.

This is about a girl going through a rather awkward time. Though she is brilliant, her behavior and ability in school put her into a resource program that earns an sadly unfortunate nickname.

It's about her world and her relationship with the people around her. As a teacher, I am reminded of how students think and that they are still children that have thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

The writing is sassy and brilliant, and the story is subtle and touching.

Simply amazing.