Young Dakota's bookbag is a complete mess, so he faces trouble with organization and time management skills. With the help of his school guidance counselor and his mother, Dakota is able to get his homework done in a timely manner and participate in extra-curricular activities.

This book is a useful educational tool for students who are struggling with the above mentioned issues.

this book was a great short chapter book to help kids with ways of addressing their organizational skills. This one teaches kids its okay to struggle and ask for help. To find things that works for them, and this book does that in a kind and gentle way

As a middle school special education teacher, I can appreciate that this is a "social story" being dressed up as a short novel. It provides solid suggestions for any child that might be struggling with executive functioning skills and emphasis is placed on how each strategy had a positive outcome for Dakota who is the main character. While I appreciate the attempt to gear this social story to a middle grade audience in a way that seems more mature than the traditional social stories that one finds, I think that the writing style is an uncomfortable fit for the target audience.

I feel like this book is a little too, optimistic? I like the character arc of trying but the pacing was a bit off, it's like the "problem" was at the start of the book and the whole book was about solving it, which made it feel more like a self help book than something fun and fictional that I could enjoy.

I'm also struggling to see the target audience for this, because this book doesn't have much plot other than Dakota doing homework, but it seems like a young readers/early middle grade book (where here at least) homework isn't assigned and definitely not graded like that. Also I'm just going to generally assume that the people who don't do homework isn't going to want to read this unless its assigned reading, and it just, doesn't feel very inspirational.

I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Boys Town Press Publishing so I can leave my voluntary review.

Overall I liked this title. It would be great for any student that struggles with organization and time management so they don’t feel alone in their challenge. It gives great tips of how to restructure approaching homework and studying.

The part that I didn’t like was two fold. One the spree wasn’t as fluid as I like for students. It’s comes off a little rushed and choppy.

Secondly, it gives the feeling that this problem has been going on for a very long time and this is the first time that his mother is following up on him? Or the school personal not recognizing his struggles? It would have been great to see some accountability from the adults that had failed him until this point as it never should have gotten as bad as it did.

Some accountability would have gone a long way in Akita feeling that he was valued and worth helping.

My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books

⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but it has some value for young readers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! I would recommend for the age or reading level appropriate for the book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs as a wide spread reading opportunity.

A lovely quick-to-read chapter book to help young people think about planning their time to do the things they want and need to do. It seems like a very targeted book however without a real storyline or reason to pick it up unless you’re struggling with a particular thing. Full of helpful strategies though!

*Thank you Netgalley and Jennifer Licate for this ARC read. All opinions are my own and are not those of the publisher or author.*

I am a middle school teacher as well as a boy mom and this book is perfect for reading about how to stay organized. As a mom with boys who have ADHD, I often worry about how they will function with organization and time management when they get to middle school. This book is fiction, but it is also self-help. I like that it gives tips on how to succeed in school as well as a storyline behind it. It is also short, so it can be read in one sitting. This book would also be great for using as a teaching tool in a study skills class or an advisory class setting. I recommend this book for teachers as well as parents.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is my second Licate book and she really seems to know her stuff. This book is a great way to encourage organisation and personal responsibility to your kids without seemingly blaming them for failing to stay organised. The dedicated homework corner, timesheet and colour coded stationary are great ideas (and I myself used colour coded stuff right the way through to university). I also appreciate the way that different races were portrayed in the illustrations although to be really inclusive there could have been a disabled individual or two.

Favourite Quote:
"I’ve taken a lot of small steps the past few weeks, and I'm seeing big changes."

Dakota isn't great at keeping up with his school work. But with the help of his teachers and parents, he comes up with some strategies to help him salvage his grades.

I like good representation of kids with ADHD especially getting the help they need. This could be a good story to share with a kid who isn't feeling the positive effects of change yet.

Awesome! This gives kids (and adults) great ideas of how to better organize yourself for success. I’m sure many children would benefit from Dakota’s story. Illustrations were very colorful and well done.

As a parent of a child who can be disorganized and a bit scattered with his schoolwork, I was drawn to this book. My Schoolwork is a Mess! is a chapter book for students in middle grades. The main character is Dakota, who needs help with getting organized with his schoolwork and gets help from the school counselor and learns to use a time management chart as a tool to help. This is definitely a good resource for students, especially because children in the middle grades are gaining more independence; it can help them gain more motivation to be intrinsically motivated to plan their time after school.

Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the e-ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Yes! We gave a winner!

Seriously, this one is great. Provides easy to follow, direct ideas for how to get organized and take charge of your life or, in this case, school days. As an adult who uses variations of many of these suggestions, I can definitely recommend it to not just teacher friends but parents struggling to help their children who are also struggling in school. The colorful illustratins and fun and main character Dakota is easily likeable. You'll root for him as his mother and counselor work to help him,. I particularly liked that these aren't ideas engraved in stone, either, but ideas that recognize the need for down time, too.

I won't detail the basic suggestions, the blurb does a good job of that, but will note that I also liked the emphasis on reaching out for help. Dakota's mother is there for him but every child wanting to appear cool and in control will relate to how Dakota struggles to do a simple task that seems easy for most, simply pick up the phone and call a classmate to ask what the homework was for a class that night. Dakota's mother, who calls him Kota, is disappointed but instead of going off on him, she shows him ways to get things done. Then, she herself reaches out for help, enlisting the counselor's assistance, showing that even adults need a helping hand at times. I definitely liked that his math teacher, the same one Dakota accused of being out to get him, took time to praise him one-on-one, too, rather than doing it in front of a classroom of Dakota's peers and possibly causing embarrassment. A good reminder to us so called adults, I'd say, on taking the time to acknowledge effort and improvement.

Bottom line, I highly recommend this book to not just my teacher and parent friends but anyone, quite frankly, not just the targeted middle grades, who maybe needs a bit of a help getting organized. Honestly, I use many of these suggestions without thinking, including the idea of using modern technology to snap a photo of information that I need to remember. Thanks #NetGalley and #BoysTownPressPublishing - #IBPA for sharing an early peek at this title with me. Let's face it, part of getting organized is getting started, so I assure you I'll be sharing this with others.

Wow! What an awesome book. This book was both interesting to read and immensely helpful, even to me. I really think that numerous kids will be able to relate to Dakota and will follow in his footsteps. And the ending really sent this home. If you put in the work, it will pay off. Readers will see this and no doubt be inspired to work harder in their own lives. On top of that, all of the strategies used in Dakota's story actually work and are totally easy for anyone to use, for both time management and organization. The author also made sure to include that, even though you might have work to do some days, there is still time for fun and relaxation. It was a good idea to include that to give the story even more depth and accuracy. As for the illustrations, I liked them! The colors fit with the tone of the book perfectly and they assisted in moving the story along. Lastly, I want to make it clear that I really think this book would be insanely useful to kids going into middle school. With any kids younger than that, the story wouldn't have as great an effect as it could have. Having kids in early middle school read this will ease a lot of anxiety around the workload that comes with middle school and will set kids off on the correct foot.
Bravo!

I loved this quick little book. Not only was the writing spot on for pre-teens to teens, the illustrations were fun. I do wish mom smiled more. As a speech pathologist, I can totally relate to students who have organizational issues. Most often they are on IEPS for ADHD or autism. The techniques used in the book are implement for disorganized students or those that have difficulty with executive functioning. I particularly loved how engaged mom was and her advice was perfect. Taking pictures of the board is such a great strategy. I will be using this book for my older students that have trouble with staying on top of things. Thanks so much for writing a book that is sympathetic to students who have a hard time keeping things straight.

This book is a good simple read with tips on ways in which children can improve their organisations skills. It focuses on the child asking for help which is important so that the child feels that it okay to ask for help when they really need it.

A simple read with tips that children can use to improve their organization skills but with a much more relaxed mindset than you usually see about this topic. I liked the way this book encourages kids to ask for help and the downloadable activity guide

Dakota is a student who is struggling to stay organized & get his work completed, and as a result he is falling behind in class & his self esteem is taking a hit.

This book is a cute & simple read with a lot of tangible tips for children to take with them. It touches on growth mindset, finding strategies that work, organization, & the importance of asking for help.

I think this is a great read for any parents & children that are in similar circumstances.

This was such a cute story. I loved the message it gave and the clever tips, this is very relatable as a mom and trying to help teach organization and responsibility. Would definitely recommend!

My Schoolwork Is a Mess!
Jennifer Licate
My Schoolwork Is a Mess! Reminds me of ME! I was an unorganized messy student. I started the school year with good intentions, but they quickly disappeared. I can relate to Dakota.
Dakota half did his homework, he was never prepared. His pencil was broken or at least not sharpened. Dakota paid little attention in class. (My favorite pass time was daydreaming.) He was unorganized. His grades were terrible and getting worse. He always has an excuse.
Dakota lacked focus and organizational skills. However, his situation isn’t hopeless. With support, assistance and solid plans Dakota can be a good student. He must create habits for his homework: he needs a designated spot for doing homework, he needs a time management chart, and color-coded binders to help him stay organized. This is a great book! There are many students that will relate to Dakota and learn from his problems. My Schoolwork Is a Mess will offer encouragement to students and guidance for parents and teachers to know how to assist students like Dakota. There is a downloadable Teacher and Counselor Activity Guide with self-reflection questions and group activities. This is the first book in the Nurturing Independence series.
This book was written for 10-14 year olds. It will be published in August 2024.

Dakota has trouble at school. He does not turn in his assignments or turns them late. His work is not organised and he does not know where to start.
With the help of others, and a change in his perspective and hard work, his academic life turns around.
I read this with my 9yo child and many of the situations resonated with us. Dakota is likeable. The illustrations are lively and add a great layer to the story.

The book is an ideal length.

Also, we liked the idea of messy homework and the growth mentality. There are not enough books about these points and we appreciate this book.