Extra Credit

I was interested to read this book, because it is my impression that there are not enough books that seek to educate young readers about the current contention between the US and Afghanistan. At first I was very disappointed with the pace of this book - it felt extremely slow. Even when I was

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almost halfway through I felt that the plot dragged and the voice was very slow. However, once Sadeed wrote his own letter to Abby, things started picking up and I got much more interested. I loved the symbolism of the mountain rock and the little pile of dirt taking on new meaning after traveling across the world. The imagery was very powerful. I thought the author portrayed the racism and hatred that can exist in both cultures very well and painted both episodes in a way that was simple and easy for young readers to understand while still showing them how detrimental it is. I think this book would be a great resource for teaching students not only about the relationship between the US and Afghanistan, but for teaching acceptance and respect for other cultures. The best thing about this book is that it shows intolerance on both sides of the world and how sad this intolerance makes both Abby and Sadeed. Seeing intolerance through these two different lenses makes this book much more meaningful and valuable as a teaching tool.

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Retelling: Abby, an adventurous girl whose greatest passion was the climbing wall in gym class, was faced with the possibility that she would have to repeat sixth grade if she did not receive a B or higher on every test and quiz until the end of the year and complete an extra credit pen-pal

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project. What began as reluctant compliance turned into an adventure as Abby connected with a pair of siblings, Amira and Sadeed, from Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, the pen-pal project was controversial. First, it was considered improper for boy students to correspond with girl students so Sadeed had to pretend that his sister, Amira, had written the letters. Her English was not strong enough yet. Second, there was fighting with America in other parts of the country and some people had strong feelings against American influence.
In the United States, Abby became inspired by Sadeed's grasp of the English language and his strong writing skills. She became aware of the controversies her project incited when Sadeed wrote to her in secret, using his own signature. After a few exchanges, a strange man intercepted him on his way to the post office and threatened Sadeed with violence. His teacher and the town leaders made him cut off the correspondence with Abby, writing one last letter to explain the circumstances.

Thoughts and Feelings: I could identify with Abby and Sadeed's excitement each time they got a letter. I remember completing a pen-pal project with a school in Mexico in the fifth grade. When the letter arrived from my "Mexican friend," I was ecstatic! I read her letter over and over again and shared it with anyone who would listen.
I like how the author chose to make the correspondence between waring nations. Abby and Sadeed's innocent, curious messages about favorite past-times and landscapes, contrasted sharply with the attitudes of their respective nations toward one another.

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The only thing about school that interests Abby is the rock climbing wall. In the flat landscape of Illinois there aren't many places to climb. When she realizes that her poor grades will keep her in 6th grade for another year, she decides to make a change. As part of the agreement with her

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teachers Abby must participate in an extra credit project. She chooses a pen-pal project from the bag of ideas, when given the choice of location she selects the most mountainous. Story follows Abby and Sadeed's correspondence. Touches on the major geographic and cultural differences between the US and Afghanistan. Also shows how very much alike we are.

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Abby Carson is flunking sixth grade. She loves P.E. because they do rock climbing, so that’s all she focuses on. When her guidance counselor sends a letter home saying she will be retained she decides to do whatever it takes to pass. She must meet “B’s” the rest of the year in all subjects

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and do a special project for Language Arts. Her project involves writing to a pen pal in Afghanistan. Sadeed is the best student in his village. When the letter arrives from America it is decided he will secretly help his sister write letters to Abby as it would be inappropriate for a young boy to write a young girl. Little do they know that these letters will cause controversy on both sides of the ocean. This was a great book. It gave a glimpse into the culture of those in Afghanistan. Highly recommend this to my students.

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Abby Carson finds out that if she doesn’t pull up her grades she will have to repeat sixth grade. Her social studies teacher allows her to do an extra credit assignment to help pull up her grade. Her extra credit assignment is to become a pen pal to another student in a different country. Abby

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Carson from Illinois becomes friends with sister and brother, Amira and Sadeed Bayat, from Afghanistan.

The pen pal aspect of this story I think is what drew me to it because in my fourth grade year we had a girl in my class whose father wrote postcards to us from the road of his truck driving. I also thought it would be interesting to see how the author would make Amira and Sadeed portray their ideas to an American pen pal considering the Iraq Freedom War.

Extension Ideas
1. As a class pen pal to another school in a different country.
2. Do a unit on the different types of landforms.

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The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Frindle" pens a novel about a young girl in the sixth grade who corresponds with children in Afghanistan, and the discoveries they make about their communities and themselves.

Another well written “school story” which bridges the gap between Eastern and Western cultures: Abby is a lazy 6th grader, who loves rock climbing and being outdoors, anything but doing her homework. Sadeed is also 12 years old, but is the brightest student and most proficient English-speaker

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in his village. The two are brought together for Abby’s extra credit project so she can be promoted to 7th grade, but cultural morays and prejudices get in the way of their budding friendship.

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age app: intermediate

genre: realistic fiction

review: this is a great example of realistic fiction because it takes probable circumstances of a girl and a boy pen pal, and the risks and dangers of their communication. It shows the positives and negatives of the two cultures, and puts the people of

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Afghanistan in a positive light.

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When Abby Carson learns she's in danger of failing the sixth grade, her teacher assigns her an extra credit assignment to help with her social studies grade. Abby will write to a pen pal in Afghanistan and then present a report to the class. When Sadeed writes back to her, Abby learns that although

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they are different, they are also the same, and she begins to see her life in America through new eyes.

Andrew Clements is a master of realistic fiction for middle graders. Abby and Sadeed came to life for me and I didn't want to stop reading about them. I wouldn't say this is one of my favorite of Clements's books, but it's a solid addition to his stellar list of titles. With the Middle East in the news so often, this would make a great classroom title and perhaps it'll inspire elementary students to pick up a pen and make their own connections across the globe.

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This is a story about and American girl named Abby and an Afghan boy named Sadeed. Abby is about ready to fail sixth grade so to avoid repeating it the following year she takes on an extra credit assignment that entails writing to a pen pal in Afghanistan. Due to conservative traditions in

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Afghanistan a girl is selected to write to Abby, but her brother Sadeed, who is also the best student in the village, oversees the letter writing to uphold the village's honor. Abby begins to take the pen pal writing seriously when she sees how much work Amira (really Sadeed) puts into her letters. A secret friendship evolves between Abby and Sadeed after Sadeed reveals to her that he is actually writing the letters. After a hostile in Afghanistan discovers that the village is friendly with Americans, the people in the village grow afraid that they will be attacked and the letter writing comes to an end. This story sends the message that we should not take the freedom that we have as US citizens for granted. We have many privileges and opportunities that people of other countries do not have. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others. This would be an excellent book to read when studying the Middle East and warfare. It would also be a good book to read as a class if the class is going to have pen pals. Reading this book brought back memories of my first pen pal in third grade. She went to another school in the town I grew up in, but I remember how excited I would get when her letters came in the mail.

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Possibly my favorite of the Bluestems. Of course, life is different for kids in America and Afghanistan, but such an interesting way to show what's important.

This was a great book that explored the cultural differences between an American girl and a family in Afghanistan. This story shows how important it is to get to know people who are different from you and have a different way of life. It also shows the similarities people can have despite a

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different background. There are also nice pictures that reinforce the plot.

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I thought it was an outstanding book.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Review: The author did a good job of creating a book that stays true to the genre of realistic fiction. This is a vary believable story that centers around a young girl who is about to flunk the 6th grade and her only means of passing is to do an extra credit project that

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involves writing to a penpal overseas.
Media: Pencil

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Abby isn't passing her classes. She doesn't want to fail middle school so she is given an extra credit assignment. She must write to a pen pal in Afghanistan. Things get interesting when her pen pal turns out to be a boy, posing as his sister because her writing isn't up to his standards. It's a

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great story that shows both cultures in a realistic light. A fun read that will make you think, too!

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A story about Abby in the sixth grade who doesnt seem to care much about her course work, she just doesnt want to do the work. She loves gym and the climbing wall. She learns that becuase of her lack of school work completed she may have to repeat sixth grade. She is told by her teacher that unless

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she wants to repeat, she must do some projects. One of these is a writting assingnment that she has to pick a child in another country and write to him or her. The assignment sparks her interest and she learns alot about the boy from Afgahnistan. She learns that girls in that country are not encouraged to go to school. That he is a boy and boys and girls should not be writting to each other in his country.They become good friends and learn alot about each others lives and how different they are but how much in common they have.

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Abby is failing 6th grade! The only way Abby can pas is if she does all her work and a extra credit project. The project is to send messages to a person living in Afghanistan, but a problem occures and they cant send any more letters

Plot: It isn’t that Abby Carson can’t do her schoolwork. She just doesn’t like doing it. And consequently, Abby will have to repeat sixth grade—unless she meets some specific conditions, including taking on an extra credit project: find a pen pal in a distant country. But when Abby’s

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first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, complications arise. The elders agree that any letters going back to America must be written well, but the only qualified English-speaking student is a boy. And in this village, it’s not proper for a boy to correspond with a girl. So, Sadeed’s sister will dictate and sign the letters for him. But what about the villagers who believe that girls should not be anywhere near a school? And what about those who believe that any contact with Americans is...unhealthy?

As letters flow back and forth—between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of central Asia, across cultural and religious divides, through the minefields of different lifestyles and traditions—a small group of children begin to speak and listen to each other. And in just a few short weeks, they make important discoveries about their communities, about their world, and most of all, about themselves.

Themes: Friendship; War; School

Characterization: Abby is a typical middle school girl, who doesn't like school. She finds herself in trouble and through the grace of her teachers is allowed to complete an extra credit assignment to pass. However, through this assignment, she learns a lot about herself and realizes that school can be interesting if you put your mind to it. She learns about another culture through letters and realizes how different and easy her life is compared to others.

Rating: 9 out of 10. This is an easy read to talk about an issue most everyone has dealt with, begging for extra credit when you are behind. In the end you learn about the Taliban and what it is like to live in Afghanistan and why their world is so different.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

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When Abby Starts failing sixth grade thats when her teacher makes her do extra credit assignment, so she chooses to write to a pen-pal , but when she starts doing this assignment,she likes it a lot so keeps on doing it. So now in her classroom, the board where she has to put up her letters for the

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whole class to see. Ten one day she gets a call from her pen-pal and she's thrilled, but they never talked over the phone before, but then they never talk on the phone again, so now Abby doesn't have to go to summer school and Abby and her pen-pal keep in touch all year long.

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This meaningful novel is about a girl who struggles in school. In order to pass seventh grade she must accomplish an extra credit project: Communicating with a kid on the other side of the world! She becomes friends with her pen pal and learns more about this new culture.

Sixth grader Abby Carson enters into an extra credit project that involves sending letters to a child in another country, in order to avoid failing her school year and being kept back. She chooses to write to someone in Afghanistan, mostly because it is the only country from the choices she is

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given that has mountains, and she is really interested in rock climbing. When Abby's first letter arrives, a boy is chosen to oversee the writing of the letter, but it is Sadeed's sister who actually gets the credit because it would not be appropriate for a boy to be writing to a girl. Of course, Abby knows none of this because she grew up in North America, but she does experience some problems of her own, which she solves in a tactful manner. I highly recommend this book to sixth grade students, especially those who love Clements other books.

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What a hilarious, yet poignant book! Everyone will be able to relate to the character of Abby Carson, who is smart but just doesn't feel like doing her homework. When it comes down to not passing the sixth grade, she decides that homework is important and part of her work is the extra credit

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project of having a pen pal from a foreign country. Her pen pal is Sadeed, a boy from Afghanistan. However, because cultural rules in Afghanistan forbid a boy from corresponding with a girl, Sadeed's sister becomes the official pen pal, with Sadeed writing most of the letters. Abby and Sadeed learn a lot about each other's cultures, and Sadeed learns that girls have much more to them than he previously thought.

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This story bridges part of a cultural gap between two different countries, Illinois, United States and Afghanistan, but brings up questions that sometimes can't be answered. Working hard for something that you want even need pays off if you are sincere about it. Procrastination for too long can

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really hurt you personally. There are lessons to be had in this book, prioritizing, working hard to accomplish a targeted outcome, overcoming fears, bending rules that are not harmful to others, but understanding why the rules are in place. This is a chapter book for ages 8-12. It does not get bogged down in the task at having to do the homework but keeps up the pace to see what the next letter will say.

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This was a great approach to a very contemporary issue. The exchange of letters between a girl from Illinois and brother and sister in Afghanistan really approaches an issue a perfect way. It allows the reader to feel comfortable in discussing the place without being overwhelmed by it. I was very

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impressed with the honest and delicate approach he took with the whole exchange. It seemed plausible and sincere. That's the way a good book does things.

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