Customer Reviews

The Wheel on the School

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ok I'll admit I was very skeptical. The premise does seem a bit dry. School children band together to find a wheel to put on their school and attract storks....I was not excited by the prospect. Thank goodness I decided to read it aloud to my children anyway! Some parts of this book are so exciting and suspenseful that I literally had sweaty palms during the reading.

And just because it is a rousing good tale doesn't mean that there aren't some wonderful life lessons to be learned by it as well. Perserverance. Friendship. And the reality the EVERYONE has something to offer to common good. This is a timeless story with appeal to all ages. Grown-ups will enjoy reading this aloud as much as their children will enjoy hearing it. I confess....I read to the end because I couldn't wait for the next read-aloud session.

This is so much more than the story of a group of school children trying to bring storks to their Dutch fishing village on the North Sea. It is a story of people - people everywhere. It is a story of how important people are, irregardless of their age, physical condition, or how they make a living. It encourages us to go beyond what we see on the surface. It shows us that when we help others and care about others, good things will come to us. The children originally wanted to lure storks to their little village because the storks were said to bring good luck. Little did they know that storks would send good fortune ahead in the form of new-found friendships, help for others, and a community that came closer together than it had been before. Miendert DeJong does a masterful job of telling the story and providing strategically planted links as the events take place and unfold. I am an elementary teacher in Cabarrus County, NC. I have read this book to my children each year for many years. When I ask my new class if anyone has heard of the book, no one raises a hand. By the time we finish, the children feel like they have been right there with Lina and the boys. They have also grown to realize that Janus was far from being the mean old man that they met at the beginning. They realize that he just needed to be needed. Each time I read the book, I see more and I learn more. Don't read this story just once. You will be walking over a hidden treasure.

What a thrill it was to "find" this book. I bought it originally on an endorsement from the Chinaberry catalog. Neither the cover nor the title was particularly catchy. It sat on my teacher shelf for a couple of months...and then one rainy day at indoor recess we began reading. The basic story is of a small group of schoolchildren in Holland and their communal efforts to bring storks back to nest on the rooftops of their village. In the process of achieving this dream the story is an intergenerational tale of love and friendship. Finding help and providence in the places you might least expect them. It touched my young listeners deeply. We built a model of the village in our classroom. We compared people in our own lives to the characters in the story and gained new insights. One last strong endorsement...I had my students rank their top three book choices so far this year. The Wheel On The School came out as #1, and yes, Harry Potter was one of the contestants.

"I think it was incredibly exciting, mostly the whole time." The previous two quotes are from my 7 year old son; his 10 year old brother and I heartily agree. We all got very emotionally involved with the characters, primarily a group of Dutch schoolchildren who were as interesting as children are everywhere who think for themselves. The several prominent adults in the book are finely drawn as well; not flawless, but each living their lives heartily and with conviction. I loved Old Douwa, the 92 year old whose past clasps the present to form a story within a story. The tale begins with one child's question: why are there no storks in our village? With a skillful hand, the author weaves in powerful truths about destiny: how asking a question leads to thinking and dreaming; how following your dreams leads to action; how appropriate (not necessarily conventional!) action can change your reality and that of your community. The lives of the good people of Shora (and a neighboring village) become interwoven and enriched because of the force of the dream of the schoolchildren and their teacher. Subtle line drawings by Maurice Sendak enhance the storyline. It's funny, heartwarming, inspiring, gripping, meaningful....what are you waiting for?

I discovered this book when I was in fourth grade or thereabouts, quite by accident in the public library. Because it seemed to be about animals (it is about storks, but it's about people even more), I took it home. And it became one of three or four books that I reread every year or two thereafter. I've read it at least three times since I finally bought my own copy as an adult.

Why is it so enchanting? I realized last night as I reread it yet again that The Wheel on the School says effectively in a story what most of today's children's books try to say in cliches and lectures: You are special, and people who are different from you are special too. Why is the message and the book effective? Because each person in the town realizes he or she, or the others in the town, is an important part of the town as the person actually contributes to it. No one is sitting around discussing self-esteem, but, for example, the town's fat boy, who usually gets left out of games, discovers he is strong, and the town's grumpy cripple becomes a leader, as they take part in what has become the town's mission--to bring storks to Shora. The old people emerge with stories and with memories of their own childhood longings and feats, and the adults and children work together. The book represents adults the way children see them (mysterious, sometimes scary, sometimes annoying, but protective, stronger, and wiser than the children), not with today's irreverence or irrelevance and not in a way where they take over the book or the children's project.

The book was a balm to me as a kid, the child who was left out of everything, and who discovered in real life, with Lina, that sometimes old ladies make good friends when children don't. And now as an adult with friends ranging from children to old ladies, I still find the book warm and almost magical.

At first, I'm a bit hesitant reading a 1950's children's novel. But since, I have this self-imposed Newbery-reading challenge, I bought and read this book. T'was a pleasant and delightful experience reading the said title. The kids/protagonists in the book are empowered, heroic in their small but precious little way. During the course of the narrative, personal myths are challenged, community relationship is being developed, sense of responsibility being highlighted, and the love for environment is endorsed without being didactic. It is also laced with realistic humor, without patronizing kids as raw materials. The book is also notable for its masterful use of description and cinematic writing; the author is like a painter of landscape and seascape. Meindert DeJong really "demonstrated kinship with the young readers" that is now lacking in recent Newbery winners. This is Newbery at its best. This is literature that endures. This is the grace of age and experience. This is our best working definition of "most distinguished American literature for children". This is how it's done.

[...]It lacks all the typical hooks and gimmicks prevalent in much of today's fiction for children.
This is real literature. It's beautifully written. The writer, Meindert DeJong, is logical, witty and sensitive.
I just finished reading "The Wheel on the School" aloud to my eleven year old daughter. My 16 year old son often sat down and listened. They both liked this book very much. "The Wheel on the School" may be especially enjoyed read aloud. It hasn't a plot that will sound "interesting" to many media-fed, contemporary young people, but it's less the subject than how it is treated that makes this book so entertaining. If you are looking for a book to read aloud, this one has many of the ideal criterium: It is, because of it's non-splashy premise, a book kids might not automatically pick-up, it's beautifully written, full of entertaining voices and characters and it's complex yet clearly written. All together perfect.
Literate Parents, I think you and your family will enjoy this one.

The book The Wheel on the School is a very interesting book because storks are very extraordinary birds. One of my favorite parts is when Pier and Dirk get stuck in Janus' back yard. Everybody thinks Janus is mean, but he's actually helpful. The newspaper guy is mean to trick them into thinking storks weren't going to come to Shora. It is sad that Lina is the only girl, because she can't play with anybody except her little sister Linda and that would be boring. I think Jella is a know-it-all, bcause he bosses everybody around. I think that Jella deserved the spanking he got from Janus! HA HA HA. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves birds, action and reading.

Meindert Dejong is a great author. His book involves friendship, determination, and persistence. These qualities plays an important role in this story. Everyone helped each other and achieved what they needed. This became a great story full of wonder and adventures. I would recommend this book to everyone, kids and adults.

I was assigned to read this in college... in order to study the scientific method and how it applies to elementary schools.

Indeed, science is a strong theme in this story, but what totally got me was the idea of a village coming together for a dream (so sue me, I'm a sucker for those kinds of stories).

Here we have a class of kids who decided they want to bring storks to their village. Because we all want giant birds lying around on our roofs. But why aren't their storks? How can they get the storks to come?

This turns from a theoretical experiment into an exciting and touching adventure to make a dream come true.

Adorable and great literature indeed.