Schooled ~ Gordon Korman

The rain won’t stop, but neither will our reading!  ☔️ And this week I pulled out this sunny title to reread. Schooled, by Gordon Korman, is a long-time favorite of mine, and possibly the best feel-good middle grade novel. It was exactly the kind of read I needed for this dreary week in Connecticut.  

If you’d like a reminder of simpler times and the goodness in this world, plus some serious chuckles, Schooled is for you. Protagonist, Capricorn Anderson, is one of a kind--partly because he is the most genuine and selfless person on Earth, and partly because he was raised on a commune called Garland Farm. Capricorn (Cap) has lived his entire life with almost no contact with the modern world, instead spending his time in nature, being homeschooled by his grandmother, Rain, and reliving Rain’s love of the 60s day in and day out.  

But when Rain falls and breaks her hip and Cap gets arrested for driving a truck without a license, his whole world is turned upside down. With no other family but Rain, Cap is forced to stay with a social worker and her daughter while Rain recovers from surgery in a rehabilitation center. Cap attends public school for the first time in his life and has to take a crash course in lockers, TVs, busy hallways, checking accounts, and so much more. 

And that all might have been fine, except that the biggest bully, and most popular student in the grade, decides to nominate Cap (dubbed the biggest loser of the grade) as class president. What unfolds is equally hilarious, horrifying, and touching. This novel is perfect for a strong reader who’s looking for a laugh and it’s even better as a read aloud.  

Maturity: 1/4

This novel is ideal for students age 9+.  It has no mature content. 

Pages: 224

Lexile: 740L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.

If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!

Sending you sunshine!

♥ Kara & Riley