I chose this young adult fantasy novel from a list of suggestions by Dr. Gibson in the syllabus. Since I'm less familiar with young adult novels, I went to the library, located a stack of Dr. Gibson's suggestions and started eliminating until my final selection came down to Pish Posh by Ellen Potter. Though this novel is fantasy it is somewhat believable, which is the type of reading I prefer. I would also consider this story a mystery novel, and mystery and crime is what I love - CSI, Cold Case, Law and Order, NCIS - now those are some of my favorite TV shows!
In this novel, the story told in third person is about Clara Frankofile, a rich snobby 11 year old girl. Her parents own a fancy New York City restaurant. She does not act like a child, she shows little emotions like a normal 11 year old and in fact does not actually get along with other children her age, and she finds them stupid and immature. She wears the same black dress and black sunglasses every day, not exactly the same dress, since she has 157 of them but that is all she has ever worn since she was an infant. Every night she sits in her parents' restaurant, called Pish Posh where people are fighting to get in and watches their guests, she gets to decide who the "nobodies" are, who she lets know they are no longer welcome in the restaurant. One day she lets Dr. Piff who knew her as a young girl that he is a “nobody” and is no longer welcome. She pays very close attention to what goes on in the restaurant and has noticed he has let his shoes go, and ordered tapioca pudding making him a “nobody”. He reminds her of her younger days and tells her that she is missing an obvious peculiar and mysterious thing happening under her nose. She is uneasy about what she has learned and is on a mission to find out what could possibly be going on. The suspense keeps the reader from putting the book down! What could it be? She gets the help of a 12 year old jewel thief named Annabelle to start a mission to solve a 200 year old mystery. As the girls work together in their journey they both change, Clara becomes more childlike and feels guilt about the way she once treated people and Annabelle realizes she doesn't like being a thief, she just likes danger. Throughout the novel there are flashbacks of Clara’s younger days which helps her remember her old self in order to change. The story is an exciting mystery but it’s more than just a mystery, it teaches a lesson of character.
The Lexile level of this chapter book is 910 which falls between 5th grade to 8th. The story is probably most suitable for interest levels ages 8-11. As the girls are 11 and 12, older students will probably be uninterested. I would also suggest this as in independent reading assignment for reader's choice rather than a book for the entire class. Though it’s an exciting story I don't think boys would be very motivated to read it since the main characters are females and by the looks of the front cover. If middle grades students are anything like my younger students boys don't particularly like stories that have female main characters but girls don't seem to have a preference, I find this interesting but it seems to be true from my experience. Using writing prompts would be a good assignment to follow up with reading this book. I remember in intermediate grades and middle school I loved choosing my own chapter book and choosing from a list of assignments/projects to do and share with my classmates, the freedom seemed to motivate me as it does for my students. A neat project would be to write a complete journal/diary (in first person obviously) from Clara or Annabelle's perspective about the events and their feelings, and how they have changed as a person throughout the book.
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