Ellray Jakes Is Not a Chicken

I'm very excited about this new beginning chapter book series. It has so many elements I've been looking for!

Main character is a boy
He's a minority in a suburb (more on that later)
The story: EllRay is the smallest kid in third grade and two of the biggest boys are picking on him. Why? He doesn't know. He also likes to make people laugh and it's getting him in trouble in school. So, his dad makes a deal - behave for a week and he'll get to go to Disneyland. This turns out to be as hard as EllRay thinks it will probably be, but he manages it in the end and even has a temporary truce with the bully, Jared.

I've been frustrated for a long time by the lack of minorities in everyday fiction. Not high concept, not celebrating culture, not show more historical, and not stereotyped settings. Not every Hispanic kid is a migrant worker. Not every African-American lives in a poor urban area. This is exactly the kind of character that the kids in my predominantly white, small Midwestern town will read about - because it's focused on people, not their race or culture, and whether the kids are a minority or not they can relate to EllRay who has identifiable problems. His race isn't ignored - he wishes there were more kids who looked like him "just so it would come out even" and it's a sensitive point for his dad and the other adults who are worried that he's getting bullied because of it, but Ellray knows that's not the point "Jared would have said something if it was. He is not the type of kid to keep things to himself. That much is obvious. Anyway, there are plenty of other things that could make him want to pick on me."

There's a lesson to be learned by EllRay of course - that words can hurt as much as punches and his jokes have repercussions. EllRay and his little sister both think and talk about kids' interactions in school - the way girls are often mean to each other and how it's different than the way boys are mean and how sometimes you're friends one week and not friends the next. The adults mean well, but as EllRay points out "outside is when school really happens for kids." The adults' interference sometimes helps, but sometimes causes more problems and in the end the kids have to figure it out on their own and it's not easy.

Verdict: This new series is funny with some good points for thought. Parents might be uncomfortable with the kids resolving their issues with a fight - but it's a realistic portrayal of how kids relate to each other and they can use it to discuss ways kids can resolve their issues on their own. We've had this series for about three months now and it's very popular! Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780142419885; Published May 2011 by Viking; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less

The protagonist of the EllRay Jakes series is African-American, but his race is not the focus of the book. Instead, this transitional chapter book series takes issues any kid may experience and approaches them with sensitivity and humor. In this first book, EllRay is being bullied in school and as a result his behavior in class is slipping. He must go a full week without getting in trouble, and in return his father will take the family to Disneyland. The results are quite clever, including his mother's reaction to his father's bribery. The resolution isn't perfect, but is unique and a surprise to both protagonist and bully.

This is a fantastic contemporary realistic fiction. This early chapter book follows a week in the life of EllRay Jakes, a smaller than average 8-year-old. EllRay is being bullied at school by some bigger boys. This bullying causes EllRay to act out and not pay as much attention in class. In order to better control his behavior, EllRay's dad promises him a trip to Disneyland if he can make it through an entire week without a single call home from his teacher. We see that EllRay does earn his trip to Disney. His parents surprised him by asking his bully (Jared) to come with them to Disney. In the end, the two boys become "temporary" friends. This story is fairly familiar to most children. I mean, a lot of children experience bullying. show more This is a great book to use in a unit about bullying and accepting one another. I would use this book in a critical literacy unit.
Media: Digital show less

This book is about EllRay Jakes, who is unsure about how to deal with a bully at his school. Although he tries to outsmart the bully, EllRay always seems to find himself in trouble. However, when his dad offers a fun vacation, but makes the condition that EllRay must have good behavior, EllRay is forced to think outside of the box and find more solutions to overcome his bully.

This is another great example of how students can think outside of the box to overcome being bullied. Although EllRay is aware of how to stop the bully from bothering him, he must find the best solution that doesn’t affect him either. Although he is having to use different methods, the author made EllRay’s character be bold and stand up for himself.

Realistic show more Fiction chapter book
Reading Level: 5.5 show less

This was a good read aloud is it brought up lots of discussion in our house. We will check out the next one in this series. I thought that the kids were very believable characters.

EllRay Jakes is tired of being bullied by fellow classmate Jared Matthews. But when EllRay tries to defend himself, he winds up in trouble. Then his dad offers him a deal: If he stays out of trouble for one week, they'll go to Disneyland! EllRay says he can do it. But saying it and doing it are two very different things.

Ellray is tasked with making it through the week of school without getting into a fight with the school bully who is not making things easy for him, he does however, have a giant carrot as the end of a string. If he can do it a trip to disneyland is in his future, can he do it?