TheMillions.com – by Jacob Lambert - [Recent studies] suggest that children learn best when they are allowed to select their own books… [According to one researcher,] “I don’t think the majority of these kids ever read during the summer, but [being] given the opportunity to select their own books and discuss what they knew… was, in itself, motivating to them.” -The New York Times - My Summer Book Report By Zach McCormick, Mrs. Bianco’s class, Grade 4 - The book I picked to read during my summer vacation was Portnoy’s Complaint, by Philip Roth.  I picked Portnoy’s Complaint because it was right on my dad’s bookshelf and also because the cover was very yellow and the writing on the cover was very swirly.  And I was also pretty curious about Portnoy and his complaint.  What is he complaining about, I wondered?  I like to complain sometimes, like when my mom forgets to put Fruit By the Foot in my lunchbox, or if she puts a plum in there instead of Fruit By the Foot. So I thought it would be neat to see what he’s complaining about.

The first thing he complains about is his mom.  I don’t think he likes her very much, because she does really bad things to him.  She won’t even let him eat French fries or hamburgers!  She says, “Don’t eat French fries with Melvin Weiner after school.”  My mom doesn’t want me to eat French fries that much either, but Portnoy can’t EVER have them or he’ll get in trouble.

Portnoy also complains about his dad, because he doesn’t know how to hold a baseball bat!  Portnoy also talks a lot about his dad’s rectum, which is WEIRD.  I never read a book that had the word “rectum” in it before, except maybe the dictionary.  I know it’s in there because I looked it up when I was reading “Portnoy’s Complaint.”  It means “tush.”

Link to Story: http://www.themillions.com/2010/08/fourth-grade-summer-reading-portnoys-complaint.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+themillionsblog%2Ffedw+%28The+Millions%29