Muggie Maggie

BOOK ENTRY FORMAT FOR GENRE PROJECT


Information for students
Author: Beverly Cleary Title: Muggie Maggie
Book Genre: Realistic Fiction, Contemp. Publishing Info: Avon Books, Inc.; 70 pp.

Summary: Maggie Schultz is a strong-willed third grader who refuses to write cursive. In fact, her parents, the principal, and her school psychologist try in vain to persuade her. However, Mrs. Leeper, Maggie’s teacher, comes up with a unique way to get Maggie interested in cursive writing by having her deliver notes to the principal and to other teachers – all written in cursive. Will Maggie’s desire to snoop outweigh her stubbornness? After all, if she does not learn to write in cursive, she cannot read it!

Personal rating: (**** Great!, *** Good, ** Ok, * A disappointment) ****

Rationale: A delightfully entertaining book; well-developed characters; good plot.

Information for teachers
Reading level: 5.0 Interest level: 3-5

Thematic Areas: Persistence; Non-conformity; Family.

Content Areas: Writing; Guidance.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: For example, print size, length, sophisticated vocabulary, harsh view of life, slow moving, swearing, explicit sexual overtones, gory
None
Possible use in classroom: Use as part of an ending unit on cursive writing; have students list ways that they would help Maggie; use to stress the importance of self-discipline as part of a writing lesson; have students write about suitable consequences for Maggie’s actions and discuss these as a class.