Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree (Reviewed by Anisha)

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out Of A Tree
Lauren Tarshis

“Mommy! She fell out of the tree! Emma-Jean Lazarus fell out of a tree!”
-Colleen
“Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell out Of a Tree” is a wonderful realistic fiction story because some of the events of the story can be real. When Emma –Jean discovers Colleen sobbing in the girls’ room at William Gladstone Middle School, she decides to help Colleen with her problem. Every February, the last weekend, Colleen goes with Kaitlin and her parents up to ski in Vermont. Colleen wants to go to the ski trip like she usually does every February but Laura plans to go this year. Laura is so powerful that she got Kaitlin to invite her instead of Colleen. So when Emma-Jean saw a flyer about the Boy’s Basketball Banquet, she writes a prank letter to Laura from the Boy’s Basketball Committee to have her dance on stage in front of the Boy’s Basketball Team. She knew Laura would give up the ski trip with Kaitlin and Colleen would be able to go. Emma-Jean’s life gets really messy, that’s for sure, just because she tries to help Colleen. What will happen if Laura finds out Emma-Jean wrote the letter?
This book has much strength. One strength is that the author gave a lot of details, such as details of the leprechaun dance. For example I could see a clear image in my mind of the girls, kicking their legs high in the air and shaking their shoulders and gyrating their hips. Another strength is that the author uses high vocabulary. For example she uses words like cellulite and nuptials. I believe that the author wrote a lot of details for the readers to understand the story much better.
This book is five out of five stars. I recommend this book to 4th graders and up because they would understand the book way better and the vocabulary. You’ll be amazed how Emma-Jean solves all the problems her friends face! You will totally love this book because I know I did!