6TH GRADE CAN REALLY KILL YOU is one of my favorite books! The story isn't that great, but the book is fun to read anyways. I think what makes the book enjoyable is Helen's pranks. Sometimes the pranks are a bit stupid, but they are funny and unpredictable.
I was also suprised at the end. In never said anything about her reading problem and she still was acting up and never learned her lesson. Even though the book has some twists and turns, I enjoyed it a lot and recomend this book to anyone.

Barthe DeClements was a genious with writing this book! A girl named Helen is the main character. She has been known as "Bad Helen" or "Hel" for short. She has short brown hair and hasn't been doing so well in school. She thinks sixth grade is going to be easy and she won't have a problem. Her friends got Mr. Marshel and she got stuck with Mrs. Lobb. She thinks that the teacher is failing her on purpose! She gets switched to Mr. Marshel's class later in the year. It turns out that she isn't doing good in that class to, but she thinks it is more fun. The story takes place at school and at Helen's house. She has to learn lifes lessons at an early age. I loved this book, because it was intresting to see what Helen would do next. If you want to know more, than you are just going to have to read it yourself.

I picked this book up at a baby-sitting job expecting it to be a fluffy sixth-grade chapter book. Yet it was much more. DeClements did a great job depicting Helen's challenges with a learning disability as she navigates sixth grade and finally finds some answers in the end. This book is great for teachers like myself because it allows us to see the impact the "little things" we choose to do or not to do can have on a student. It's a great book for students because it depicts Helen's decision-making processes and the ramifications as she chooses to utilize the special ed. room as a resource to help her read.

I had read this book 10 years ago when I was in the 6th grade and it was definitely one of my favourites. It was funny reading about the pranks Helen played on Mrs. Lobb, but the teacher was really unfair towards her. Overall, the book was well written descriptively and made me feel as though I was watching a movie at the same time. There is nothing wrong with seeking help with reading, but it is also very common for kids to be cruel towards someone who's different, which is unfair. This book showed that Helen may have had a learning disability, but shows talent in other areas such as math, art, music and sports and is a very bright and articulate individual. I also enjoyed reading about her spending time with her friends at birthday parties and what a fun Christmas she had.

As a former special education student who endured my own share of public school abuses (from teachers and students alike) I was initially excited about this book during my own elementary school. That was, until I actually read through the patronizing story.

'Bad Helen' recieved her nickname because she repeatedly acts up in class due to frustration with a learning disability. Her school knows that she is elgible for services but for the sake of the story, she is in the 'regular' classroom with a teacher who has made it clear that she does not like Helen for who she is. Having special education students in the regular classroom only works if the teacher is not insulting the student.

Even today, I am amazed by the number and severity of plot holes. Nobody (including the parents) seems alarmed that Helen is not recieving the help she is entitled to get under state/federal special education laws. This sends/reinforces historical stereotypes that special education (instead of the discrimination people using it experience) is bad and undesirable.

Now as then, this book may be the only 'public' information on special education that some students recieve---especially about themselves. Ms. Declements could have performed a tremendous public service for her readers (ala Henry Winkler's Hank Zipster) but instead exploits fear of being different. Furthermore, naive parents who are afraid of their children's diagnosis also turn to juvenile literature to reasure the whole family of an uncertain future. This book harms the very populations it could be trying to obtain primary readership from.