The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline (1983)

The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline by Lois Lowry (1983): Caroline Tate lives with her “Beastly” older brother and her single mother in New York City, dreams of becoming a paleontologist, and hates weird vegetables. But when she stumbles onto a neighbor’s plot to “eliminate the kids” in his apartment building using an overdue toxicology book, she and her brother may have to team up to protect themselves.

This story is told from Caroline’s perspective, and enough information is given right away that makes her easy to identify with: she doesn’t like eggplant, she has an annoying brother, her family is on a lean budget, and she secretly sleeps with a stuffed animal. Although the resolution to the “mystery” plot may be anticipated by YAs, the story still surprises and amuses. Also notable is that each of the children has embraced an eccentricity: Caroline wants to study dinosaurs, her brother regularly dismantles and “repairs” the household electronics, and her future-journalist friend Stacy regularly speaks in headlines, e.g. “KIDS RESHOD. MEAL BEGINS.”

Lexile: 690
Reading Recovery: 22
DRA: 38
Fountas Pinnel Guided Reading: P