Codell, Esme Raji. Sahara
Special. Scholastic, Inc., 2004. (175 pages)
This book is narrated
by the title character, Sahara. Kids at her school call her “Sahara Special”
because she spent time in the special education program. Her story is one of overcoming stigma and
educational struggles with the help of a very unconventional teacher.
The style and language
in this book are very urban and modern. The school described could be any
public school. While readers are never given a clinical description of what
Sahara’s special needs are (I kind of like that it was left unexplained), they
can clearly see what other children think about her as a student who is pulled
out from regular classes to get individualized attention. Readers can also see
what it feels like to be a student like Sahara with a big file in the office
and adults arguing about what to do with you.
Sahara is won over to
literature by reading Aesop’s fables, poetry, and Ramona books by Beverly
Cleary. She decides that she will become a writer. Literature and education are
both colossal themes in this book. One reading it would understand the message
very clearly = give children in special education a chance to fall in love with
literature and it will improve their lives.
Overall, it was nice, but not earth-shattering. It was somewhat predictable and didactic, which can create
boredom in a book’s readership. It reminded me of the section in the C.S. Lewis' On Stories where Lewis talks about how overly-didactic
books can be condescending.
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