Shoeshine Girl (Rise and Shine) (Trophy Chapter Books (Paperback))

Read it with my 6th graders. They really liked it.

Realistic fiction at a low reading level (grades 2-4, I imagine)but a good read for middle school kids, too. So this ended up being perfect for kids who are in 7th grade, have a 3rd grade reading level and don't want to walk around reading Magic Treehouse.
A nice story.

Another odd children's book that has been in my family, unread, for decades. Here's its moment to shine. (Ha! I kill me!)

A girl gets sent off to her aunt when her parents suspect she might be sliding into the ways of juvenile delinquency. And the girl does cop an attitude and strong-arms some money

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out of a neighbor girl.

But as the title reveals, she gets a job to earn her own money. And, fellow capitalists, ain't nothing like hard, honest labor to straighten a punk out and set them on the right path of taking responsibility for their actions and helping others.

That old trope aside, I still liked the book overall, though I did find it surprising and unsettling when the protagonist is revealed to be a ten-year-old snot and child laborer as opposed to the teenager I assumed she was.

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