Labels
Charlie Voss has been the new kid five times in five years - and every time, the file gets there before he does.
This year it says LD. Learning disabled. It doesn't say that he can fix almost anything with his hands: a wobbling desk, a dead CD player, a bike that won't shift right. Nobody's really looking for that part.
Priya Anand has a different label. Gifted. Pulled out of class three mornings a week for a program she loves and isn't allowed to admit she loves - because the other kids already have a word ready for kids like her, too.
They shouldn't have much in common. But when Charlie fixes what nobody else can - quietly, without meaning to be seen - Priya is the first person all year who actually looks. Their friendship will cost them both more than they expect. And when the whole school is counting on something only Charlie can fix, he'll have to decide whether being seen is worth the risk of finally being wrong about himself.
LABELS is a quiet, funny, and deeply honest middle grade novel about the boxes we get put in - and the ones we build for other people without ever noticing.
A Novel Teachers Keep Coming Back ToWritten in the tradition of Andrew Clements and Jerry Spinelli, LABELS treats its fourth-grade readers as thoughtful people capable of understanding nuance - not just following plot. It never lectures. The message arrives the way it should: through character, not commentary.
LABELS works equally well as an independent read or a whole-class read-aloud, and it opens the door to rich, natural classroom discussion around:
Labels, identity, and belongingLearning differences and gifted education - shown from the inside, not explained from the outsideEmpathy, assumptions, and hidden strengthsFriendship under social pressureGrowth mindset and resilienceLiterary devices: foreshadowing, symbolism, motif, point of view, irony, and character arcEvery major character - Charlie, Priya, their teacher Mr. Burgess, even Ryan, the classmate who gives Charlie the hardest time - offers something worth talking about. Nobody in this book is simply the hero or simply the villain. Readers finish it recognizing themselves: I've felt like Charlie. I've felt like Priya. I've probably been Ryan, at least once.
Whether you're building a unit on empathy, looking for a read-aloud that will hold a room of nine- and ten-year-olds, or simply want a novel that treats your students' inner lives with respect, LABELS is ready for your classroom.
Perfect for readers and classrooms grades 4-6.
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