Buyea, Rob.
BECAUSE OF MR. TERUPT
New York : Delacorte, 2010
IL 3-6, RL 4.6
ISBN 038573882X

(2 booktalks)

Hopefully we have all known a teacher like Mr. Terupt.  That teacher who just gets us.  For these 5th graders in Vermont, he is just what they need.  We follow the students through one school year and get to know them and what their lives are like.  We meet the prankster, the new girl in town, the shy child, the girl who won't stand up for herself.  When tragedy strikes Mr. Terupt, the children must cope with what happened and decide for themselves what to do.  Each chapter is narrated by one of the children which makes the story more authentic.

Booktalk #2

What do you do when your teacher is not acting “normal”? Do you complain about him? Seven fifth graders at Snow Hill School discuss how their lives have been changed by Mr. Terupt. He does not teach in the normal way, instead he lets the students figure things out for themselves. When Mr. Terupt goes into a coma after getting hit on the head with an ice ball thrown by a student, they all realize that he is a very special person. Read this book to find out what good news all the students get when Mr. Terupt comes back for the last day of school.  (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards Program Booktalks 2012-2013)