Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw (Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw Book 1)

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!

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.

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.

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.

<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>

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

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.

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!

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.