The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary
Written by Laura Shovan
Laura Shovan’s engaging, big-hearted debut is a time capsule of one class’s poems during a transformative school year. Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it.
Eighteen kids,
one year of poems,
one school set to close.
Two yellow bulldozers
crouched outside,
ready to eat the building
in one greedy gulp.
But look out, bulldozers.
Ms. Hill’s fifth-grade class
has plans for you.
They’re going to speak up
and work together
to save their school.
Praise for The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary
“This gently evocative study of change in all its glory and terror would make a terrific read-aloud or introduction to a poetry unit. A most impressive debut.” – School Library Journal
Shovan’s characters “will inspire readers as they find the courage to save their school and make their voices heard.” – Publishers Weekly
“The poems are easy to read, in authentic-sounding language that captures the poets' personalities…A helpful guide to poetic forms appears at the end of the book.” – The Horn Book
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Grade Level: 3-7
View classroom supplements below!
Free Educator Guide
Look inside for poetry-themed discussion questions, activities, and reproducibles for teaching this novel in verse!
Includes common core state standards correlations.
Awards for The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary
Starred review - School Library Connection
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year
ILA-CBC Choices Reading Lists, Children’s Choices
SCBWI Crystal Kite Finalist, Midatlantic Region
Lectio Book Award Finalist
Nerdy Book Club Award — Poetry and Novels in Verse
Nominated for:
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award, Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards, Rhode Island Children’s Book Award, Wisconsin State Reading Association Children’s Book Awards
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