I was intrigued by this novel right from the beginning, but it took me a long time to get to it. I regret every moment that I waited. This was a phenomenal piece of literature that I truly believe that every teacher and every individual who works with children in any capacity should read! Lynda Mullaly Hunt absolutely captures the persona of a struggling middle schooler and reminds us that we need to remember there are reasons behind behaviors. Most of the time, misbehaviors are a student's way of asking for help.

I really enjoyed this book. We read it as our adventure club book and all the students enjoyed it as well. Combined with some puzzles that let them see what a learning disability feels like gave them a little more empathy to Ally. I know that the school system can sometimes fail to recognize problems when a youth tries to cover it up. I hope this book helps other children learn to speak out to help themselves.

I really enjoyed reading the young adult novel Fish in a Tree. A wonderful portrayal of the life of a girl with a learning disability. Going through many emotions of self worth, other's perception and expectation, as well as grasping the idea that being smart in a different way is wonderful, and not a damnation. On a personal level, working with children with special needs, I especially connected to this book, and liked seeing a child's disability in a whole new prospective. Thank you NetGalley for the e-reader edition for my review. All opinions are my own.

This was a fantastic book about the difference a teacher can make when they take the time (and have the time) to notice when a student needs something different to succeed. I would highly recommend this book!

I cannot say enough good things about this book! I used this book to start a new reading program at my school and it was a huge success. There are so many teachable moments created by this book. It touches on the theme of bullying and helps to explain dyslexia to children from a struggling reader's perspective. Phenomenal book...a must read!

Awwww this was a cute, funny and good coming of age story!

This review is based on my 4th grade daughter's feedback. She started reading it with her class, then came home and finished it on her own in a day. She absolutely loved it!

"Fish in a Tree" intrigued me, as I have been reading other books like "Wonder" and wanted to check out more reads with unconventional protagonists as potential recommendations for the kids in my life. This excerpt, however, did not hold my attention as I had hoped it might. It is clear from these first chapters that Ally sees the world differently from her teachers, parents, and even other students. No one quite understands her, and I can relate to the feeling that you're somehow out of step with the world. However, most of the chapters were filled with her internal monologue that constantly reminded us that she doesn't fit in. Although this might be realistically true, it made the narrative rather one note and did not compel me to want to read on. It is possible that the rest of the book will pick up and reveal more facets to Ally and those around her (particularly with the new teacher she encounters), but for now I may look to other reads first.

I was very disappointed to find that this pre-pub copy was of only the first eight chapters. There was nothing to give the reader any idea of the meaning of the title, Fish in a Tree. The main character, Ally Nickerson, is a little girl who is good at math, and is a gifted artist, but she cannot read. Her teachers don't know, even her mother doesn't know that her daughter can't read.

Ally says the letters jump around on the page, and look like little bugs. As a result of her illiteracy, Ally gives her teacher a terribly inappropriate greeting card, because she liked the beautiful flowers on the front of the card.

The poor kid thought she could do nothing right. I spent time wondering what is wrong: maybe some form of Autism? Maybe problems with her eyesight (the letters "squiggle and dance")?

The large number of sentences beginning with the conjunction "and" was distracting. As was the improper placement of the word "only" within sentences. The book went on and on about Ally thinking things such as no one likes me, I can't do anything right, they think I'm stupid, getting headaches from seeing dark letters on the brightness of white pages, and wondering how people can read when the letters dance around. After eight chapters with not a hint of a turning point in the story, I was frustrated to see the pre-pub had ended. It may be a good story. It may deal respectfully with childhood problems. It may even provide good information about those problems, but I will never know. I won't be searching for a copy containing the remaining chapters.

A great sneak peak into this wonderful book. I'm super excited to read "Fish in a Tree" and I'm sure anyone of any age will love this book!

I loved that it showed how one teacher can make a huge difference in a child’s life. Mr. Daniels helps Ally to grow when it seemed like everyone else had given up on her. The author captured the characters beautifully and deserves all of the honors she gets!

What a great beginning to what I'm sure is a great book! The author does a wonderful job in capturing the insecurities and uncertainty of Ally's struggle with reading and writing. It really brought me back to when I was a teacher teaching my own students how to read. It made me want to be Ally's teacher or even parent. The fact that her mom didn't believe Ally's third grade teacher of the young girl's struggle nearly broke my heart. This is so true and accurate of many parents - denial. Honestly, I am loving this read so much that I have requested it from my library to finish it. Thank you for letting me sample this read!

Excellent sneak peek to quite the fun, quirky children's book. I look forward to reading the full book.

I received a copy of this sneak peek from Nancy Paulsen Books through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I still haven't learned my lesson about reading the book blurb before starting to read a sneak peek, but at least with Fish in a Tree, the things that the blurb would have told me were pretty easy to figure out just from the context clues. Granted, I wasn't sure if Ally was dyslexic or if she had some other less common issue with reading (she describes letters as swirling around on the page whereas it's my understanding that with dyslexia letters tend to just get flip flopped within words, but I only have a very basic understanding of dyslexia). While this is a problem that I believe would typically be figured out early on, because Ally's dad is in the military they move a lot, so Ally is always switching schools, and she slips through the cracks. The sneak peek says she's been in seven schools in seven years, so she's got to be in at least sixth grade (and I think that is the grade she's in based on the classroom dynamic). I'm astounded that a child could make it to sixth grade with dyslexia and no one would figure it out, but in her situation, I can accept that it happened. What fourth grade teacher gets a new kid mid school year and assumes that the behavior that seems like acting out is actually an inability to read? The kid doesn't have an IEP, nothing in her records indicates that she has problems with reading. Clearly she's just a problem child, right?

Now I only just barely met Mr. Daniels in the sneak peek I read, but I like him (I'm supposed to like him I'm sure). Based on his reaction to Ally, and knowing that he discovers what is going on with her, I suspect that maybe he is also dyslexic, or that someone close to him growing up was. I just think that the fact that he came into the class mid-school year to take over while the class teacher is on maternity leave, and almost immediately suspects that there is more going on with Ally than she's letting on really indicates that he's pretty familiar with dyslexia and/or learning disabilities in general. And he's young and a substitute, so he likely doesn't have a whole lot of experience with teaching yet.

I don't feel super compelled to finish reading this book. It's a middle grade book, so I feel like I can mostly fill in the major gaps in the rest of the story (I'm pretty good at predicting outcomes in middle grade books at this point in my life), I wouldn't be opposed to reading the rest of the book either though. However, I would absolutely buy this book for my children. Neither of them is dyslexic, but I think a book like this could likely help kids develop at least a little bit of empathy towards kids who learn differently than most, and since kids can sometimes be really mean, that would be a good thing.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was only given a free sample of the book. I can't wait to read the rest of it! Check out all my book reviews at www.myliterary2cents.blogspot.com

Plot Summary: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt is a touching story about a little girl who obviously cannot read. I only got to read the first 4-5 chapters of this book since it was just a sample of the book, not the whole work. Ally is a very talented, strong-willed little girl who tries to hide the fact that she cannot read from everyone. She constantly gets in trouble at school and is often told to try harder. Her response is if you wanted a fish to climb a tree, would you tell him to try harder? She does not get along well with her teacher. She accidentally gave her a sympathy card when she has a baby shower at school. She gave her the card because she couldn't read it, she just liked the pictures. Of course everyone else thought she was just being mean. The end of the story where my copy leaves off is when her teacher takes maternity leave and she gets a new "man" teacher. He is trying very hard to encourage her... I can't wait to read the full copy!

Notes about the author/writing style: I have never read any other books by Lynda Hunt, but I enjoy her style. She doesn't write words just to be writing them, she values the readers time and gets to the point of the action. I love stories that are told from the point of view of a child, and I would love to know how this author is able to get into the mind of a dyslexic child so well.

What I loved about the book: As a teacher who works with struggling kids, I really sympathize with Ally. I always enjoy books that are told from a child's perspective. I love the way the author goes into detail about how Ally feels and what she sees when she tries to read.

What I disliked about the book: I honestly have not found anything that I dislike about this book.

Who should read this book? All teachers and anyone who has worked with struggling children. This would also be a wonderful story for someone to read who has gone through the torture of reading difficulties (and came out on the other side of course).

I would like to review the book but was only given part of it to read. This is not a new book and was published back in 2015. My library already has a copy.

I love the narrator's voice in this book. The frustrations of being young and struggling in school are easy to remember as I read.
The sample chapters were appropriate for all readers; I believe this would interest ages from 10 years and up.
I will definitely be looking for this book to finish reading; the sneak peek left me hungry for more.

We have multiple copies of "Fish in a Tree" in our library and they are ALWAYS checked out. I have to be content with the sneak peek until a copy is available. I hope that is soon. I really, really hope that is soon, because it is wonderful!

This is a "sneak peek" version of the book which was published Feb 2015 and rec'd from NetGalley for review.

Fish in a Tree by Nancy Paulsen
Middle school. Ages 10 and up/grade 5

Chapters 1-8 were made available to me.
Immediately, it reminds me of a few middle school books I've read with the same theme of fitting in. The challenges kids face when at school with conditions which aren't obvious to the eye. I don't think we can ever over address the issues of acceptance and tolerance when it comes to our children.

I think this is a book that not only students should read, but also teachers, future teachers, and those who plan on going into the teaching field. To see what students encounter and how teachers do, or should, act towards their classes. To see a positive role model who will not judge and be open can make all the difference. This should be on every education major's reading list.