Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade | by Barthe DeClements

Being around my young niece has inspired me to look back at books from my childhood. One of my favorite book that I read over and over again was Nothing's Fair in the Fifth Grade. It was one of my comfort books especially late at night when I was sick or couldn't sleep. Something that happened quite often. I  was actually quite surprised how much I did and didn't remember from this book. I had fond memories of it but a reread has me questing many aspects of it. This book is a lot more complex than I realized. Looking at it with adult eyes left me wondering if I'd share it with my niece. I decided that I would only if we could discuss it as she read it. 

Jenny is in fifth grade when a new student named Elsie Edwards joins her class. Elsie is overweight making her the target of bullying. The word fat is used a lot. Jenny has an aura of innocent with a bit of a mean streak in her. She's judgmental, petty and kinda bratty but what child isn't? She is also sweet, kind and eventually discovers that life isn't fair to everyone not just her. She learns to look past the physical presence of a person and see who they really are. 

The writing is simple and deals with some heavy subjects such as bullying and the underline cause of why Elsie overeats. It also deals with acade
mic struggles and wins and how friendships develop when you least expect it. There is a really peculiar section that deals with hitchhiking and kidnapping. I'm going to assume that it's because it was a huge fear in the 80s and 90s that was hammered into the children of that time and the author (and her classroom kids who helped write it) trying to teach a lesson on stranger danger. 

Nostalgia is funny sometimes and I am wondering why I loved this book so much. All I can think it that I was bullied for being scrawny, tiny and a late bloomer which left me relating to Elsie when it came to being bullied and disliked based on appearance.