Winner of the 2004 International Reading Association Book Award for Intermediate Readers!

There are two files on Sahara Jones. The one the school counselor keeps is evidence that she’s a fifth-grader who needs special education. The other is the book Sahara is secretly writing, her Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures. 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. Laugh-out-loud dialogue and unforgettable characters distinguish Esmé Raji Codell’s debut novel about a talented but troubled student and the inspiring teacher whose belief in her changes her life.

Esmé Raji Codell is the author of the highly acclaimed and best-selling Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year. She has been a keynote speaker for the International Reading Association and the American Library Association, and now runs the popular children’s literature Web site, www.planetesme.com. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

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Complete book available on audio from Listening Library.