  | Stand tall, Molly Lou Melon (Molly Lou Melon) Author: Lovell, Patty | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Even when the class bully at her new school makes fun of her, Molly remembers what her grandmother told her and feels good about herself.
| Illustrator: | Catrow, David |
Download a Teacher's Guide| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 3.50 Points: .5 Quiz: 54446 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: K-2 Reading Level: 3.10 Points: 1.0 Quiz: 26367 | |
Common Core Standards
Grade K → Reading → RL Literature → K.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade K → Reading → RL Literature → K.RL Craft & Structure
Grade K → Reading → RL Literature → K.RL Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Grade 1 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 1.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 1 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 1.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 1 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 1.RL Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Grade 1 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 1.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 2 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 2.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 2 → Reading → RL Reading Literature → 2.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 2 → Reading → CCR College & Career Readiness Anchor Standards fo
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (06/15/01)
School Library Journal (10/01)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (10/01)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 10/01/2001 K-Gr 3-Although first-grader Molly Lou Melon is extremely short, has buck teeth you can stack pennies on and a bull-frog voice, and is clumsy, her grandmother keeps reminding her that if she believes in herself, the world will believe in her, too. When Molly Lou's family moves, and she encounters the school bully, Ronald Durkin, she remembers her grandmother's advice. When he calls her "SHRIMPO!" she beats him at football and, full of self-confidence, meets his other taunts with an astounding array of talents. The intricate snowflake she cuts wins Ronald's admiration and his gift of a stacking penny for her teeth. Catrow's pencil and neon-green-tinged watercolor illustrations suit the exuberant, over-the-top quality of the protagonist and text. The book's message, however, may leave readers wondering if the way to deal with a bully is just to be better at everything, which might not be feasible for many children. Judith Caseley's Bully (Greenwillow, 2001) is more realistic. Still, Lovell's story is good fun, and to believe in oneself, in all one's variability, is a laudable theme.-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. - Copyright 2001 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2001 Molly Lou Melon is one self-possessed kid. She’s “just taller than her dog” and she’s the shortest girl in the first grade, but “she didn’t mind. Her grandma had told her, ‘Walk as proudly as you can and the world will look up to you.’ So she did.” Unfortunately, Molly moves to a new town, away from her friends and her supportive grandmother. When class bully Ronald Durkin calls her “SHRIMPO!” and “BUCKY-TOOTH BEAVER!” and tells her she sounds like a duck, Molly shows her stuff: she scores a touchdown by ducking under Ronald’s legs, she stacks a tower of pennies on her teeth, and she “QUACK!”s so loud she makes Ronald “somersault backwards, hit his head, and have to go to the nurse.” Predictably (but still happily), old Ronald comes around (“On the fifth day of school, Ronald Durkin brought Molly Lou Melon a stacking penny for her tooth and smiled at her”), and Molly Lou is able to write to her grandma that “everything you told me is exactly right!” Prescriptive though this story may be, the text is fast and funny, and Molly Lou is a fetching little heroine. Catrow’s palette is intense, and his sense of perspective distorted: he uses garish hues of acid yellow-green as a constant throughout and sets the tiny Molly Lou Melon against huge houses, huge school buses, and huge Ronald. The bulging-eyed, toothy characters aren’t cute (in fact, some of them are downright scary), but they are endearing. This will make a comic readaloud, with easy lessons for class bully, new kid, and other assorted listeners. - Copyright 2001 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
