SuitabookDonutheart
Sue Stauffacher
- Reading
- Read alongside the child if school embarrassment or family change may feel immediate. Pause after difficult moments to ask what Franklin notices, what Sarah might need, and which adults could help.
- Themes
- Friendship and responsibility: Franklin’s unlikely best friend Sarah needs more help than he thinks he can manage, and he works to help her. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Growing up amid change: Franklin enters sixth grade and faces middle-school routines, social changes and uncertainty about Glynnis moving ahead of him socially. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Family and adult support: Franklin’s mother has a boyfriend, while his mother and Gloria Nelots are described as tough but kindhearted adults who help him manage events. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Pay attention to how Franklin responds when Sarah needs more help than he believes he can manage, and whether the story presents support as shared responsibility rather than a task he must handle alone.