This is a good children's story about standing up for what's right, even for outlaws. The characters are very good and the story is easy to read. The comic panels won't win many prizes, but they fit the story very well.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed the cute story and pictures. Highly recommend to children in my class (9 and 10 years old) Very positive response so far!

I received this book for my 9 year old son and he devoured it. He said he really enjoyed it and it is difficult to find books he will read. Thank you #netgalley for an ARC.

Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw is a revamp of the Robin Hood story. While it is a middle-grade book, older readers who know the original Robin Hood story will enjoy all of the sneaky mentions of the original.

My biggest issue with the book was the lack of character development. Most of the characters were one dimensional and were difficult to relate to.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Gina Loveless
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: 10 Sep 2019

My daughter was so excited to read this! She has been into these types of books and it didn’t disappoint. We know got her into a new series which is awesome!

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw".

This book did top my favorite reads this year, however I'm currently in the middle of a major move, and will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating.

Thank you so much!

To my shame, it took me a chapter or two to realize that this was a Robin Hood story. I thought the emphasis on the protagonist's hoodie was weird but didn't immediately grasp that that affectation was just a labored reason to nickname her Robin Hood. Of course, if we're familiar with any version of the original story, the plot becomes fairly predictable. The characters are not developed enough to distinguish this story from most other retellings.

In the halls of Nottingham Elementary there is a fifth grader named Robin Loxley. She is a lover of all things basketball and a believer in fairness. So when playground bully Nadia starts charging kids to play on the playground equipment, Robin wants to step in and do something.

Nadia takes Bonus Bucks as her playground tax. Bonus Bucks are rewards that students at Nottingham can earn by getting good grades, helping out in the classroom, or getting caught by a teacher doing something nice for someone else. Robin has been saving hers for a long time. She is hoping to buy the best birthday present ever for her best friend Mary Ann, who’s been angry with her because Robin couldn’t make it to Mary Ann’s ballet recital.

Robin has her eyes set on a special prize: President for a Day. It costs 300 Bonus Bucks, and she is up to 297. With less than a week to go, Robin has to figure out how to get 3 more bucks. But when Nadia raises her playground tax, Robin can’t help but step in. Putting her hood up and confronting the bully, Robin knows she has to do something.

However, her attempt to balance the scales ends up with her in detention and all the Bonus Bucks getting suspended. Now Robin has to figure out how to how to fix everything so that she can win back Mary Ann’s friendship and Nadia and her gang no longer take advantage of the other kids on the playground, and the clock is ticking. Can Robin and her friends shoot a bulls-eye on this challenge?

Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw is a charming retelling of the Robin Hood legend for kids. Gina Loveless wrote a fun, energetic story with clever Easter eggs from the original story, and illustrator Andrea Bell adds lots of dynamic drawings to fill out the story. This is a great introduction to the story of Robin Hood as well as a smart way to teach kids about standing up to bullies and doing the right thing for its own sake. Lively, spirited, and easy to read!

Galleys for Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw were provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

<em>Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw</em> by Gina Loveless and illustrated by Andrea Bell was actually an incredibly cute Robin Hood retelling. I've always been a huge fan of our favorite green hooded outlaw and so it comes as no surprise that I felt an instant need to read this one when I saw it. Robin Loxley in this one is a young girl who loves basketball and has noticed a serious problem with the playground tax the school bully, Nadia, has put to steal everyone's bonus bucks--a prize system the school uses. She's got a lot of work cut out for her if she's going to tackle the injustice, especially with Principal Roberta gone and Vice Principal Johnson out to get rid of their bucks altogether.

Above all else, the one thing that I love most about this story is how cleverly it adapts all the favorite things you love about Robin Hood into the story of a young girl in fifth grade. From Little Joan, Mary Ann, and Nadia (Little John, Marian, and the Sheriff of Nottingham respectively) to the clever representation of King Richard and Prince John with the principals, this story has references you'll absolutely adore if you're a fan of Robin Hood in the first place.

And I think ultimately it was those references that really endeared me to the story overall. It's pretty simple as far as plots go; there's a bully and a conflict and a main character to work slowly through it both the right and wrong ways. Eventually everything is resolved and Robin is the best at a sport that enables her to win fairness for the rest of her peers. <em>Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw </em>isn't overly complicated or one of the most amazing stories I've ever read, but it was definitely fun.

The writing level was a little lower than what I would consider appropriate for a fifth grader, rather I would be more inclined to give this to a third or forth grade student. Still, I don't see that as an immense problem, especially considering what I do for work. I understand that there are plenty of children out there who might be in 5th grade but struggle to access reading at that level. All in all, I'm quite fond of this rather clever and adorable Robin Hood modernized retelling.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

| <a href="https://www.instagram.com/spasciuti/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/SPasciuti_">Twitter</a> | <a href="spasciuti.com">Reader Fox Blog</a> | <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/@spasciuti">Bloglovin’</a> | <a href="https://m.facebook.com/SteffPasciutiReaderFox/">Facebook</a> |

Review to go live on blog on 09/10/19.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a modern day telling of Robin Hood. I can see why this would appeal to kids. I thought it would be in diary format since it's in the title. The prologue is in diary format but drops it.

Having read younger books that didn't read as young, I was a little disappointed that this book definitely read as young. Not a bad book. I'd give it 3 stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This book, for some reason, just didn't work for me. I wasn't fond of the MC's voice and the storyline seemed a tad off to me. I recognize that this was a modern day retelling of Robin Hood and I thought that the concept was clever, but it didn't do much for me.

Not a bad book, but only 2 stars because two means "it was ok" and three means "I liked it", but I just didn't, so 2 stars it is. More 2.5, with the half star going towards me knowing it's not the book, it's me. I won't hesitate to recommend it at the store to a customer who would enjoy it, I just wasn't that person.

Disclaimer: This was a DNF for me, I got to page 73 and just couldn't read further. It wasn't bad or offensive, I can see where it would grab a young/middle reader. I did skip a bit further into the book, but what I saw didn't grab me.

2, it's me not the book, stars.

A clever and captivating tale that rises above the simple illustrations. Robin and her struggles with Nadia the bully will capture your heart. Her quirky band of friends were faithful and loyal as Robin Hoods Merry Men. Allana and Dale were always ready to provide a situation-appropriate rap. I don't expect them to be cutting any albums soon, though. Of course, Robin feels best wearing her hood and makes a new friend in Little Joan on the basketball court.

A shout out to Andrews McMeel (beloved local publisher) and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good children's story about standing up for what's right, even for outlaws. The characters are very good and the story is easy to read. The comic panels won't win many prizes, but they fit the story very well.

A cute book that revolves around a fifth-grader named Robin. The story follows her adventures in school. Fun characters. Would recommend.

Thank you to Gina Loveless, NetGalley, and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read this book in ARC form. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer to simply advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

This is quite a clever young read; the large and easy font makes it look like a volume for reluctant readers, but the spirit, drive and inventiveness of it should appeal elsewhere. Robin Loxley is a young basketball nut, who has a goal – get enough credit notes in school to give the-girl-who-was-her-BFF-but-isn't-any-more the prize reward of principal for the day. The only thing is that there is a nemesis for her – and pretty much everyone else in school, who is taxing every break time in any way they can, to get a uselessly large amount of the notes. Can this Robin, together with her new friend Little Joan, steal from the rich to give to the poor, and can she get to regain the company of her Maid Marian – I mean, her friend, Mary Ann?

Yes, the book is actually very good at riffing off the Robin Hood legend – she wears a hoodie in this one, but there are many other instances of it cropping up. You never see two friends called Dale and Allana mentioned in that order, for one thing. The book isn't perfect for a couple of reasons, one of them being those two last characters allegedly rapping everything they say all the time, and some silly extended joke about food metaphors, but on the whole this is very much on the ball. You're forced into siding with Robin, but even knowing this was rather manipulative was not a hindrance to enjoying it. The illustrations aren't too common (though are suitably comic book-styled when they appear) allowing the sense of achievement of reading a much more fulfilling volume than, say, the average "Wimpy Kid". It's doesn't belabour its diary format, either, reading instead just like a routine prose narrative. A strong four stars for this series opener.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

I got this book for my ten year old daughter. She loved it. It was a great, easy to follow book for her!