Out of Order
Out of order. Hicks, Betty; Roaring Book Press, 2005
Grade Level: 6-8
ISBN: 1-59643-061-3
Price: $15.95
Synopsis: Is this blended family dysfunctional? These four kids are thrown together because their parents got married, but they have their own ideas how a REAL family is supposed to work, and this isn’t it. It should be obvious that the new stepbrothers and stepsisters don’t understand the previous status each had in the family, and as well as their relationships to their own parents. Now they have to get used to sharing their parents with new kids, while attempting to live alongside these strange new siblings.
General Review: Have you ever felt like the world was against you? If so, maybe you can relate to Eric, V, Lily, and Parker as they face attempts to fit the pieces together in a family that is new to them. The format of this book allows each kid in the family a chance to tell the story from his or her own point of view. The joint project that they undertake, a plan to hold a rock-paper-scissors tournament to raise money to send to kids in Iraq, may force them to work together instead of against each other.
Themes: Stepfamilies; Remarriage; Brothers and sisters; Grief; Loss
Author information: Betty has a BA in English and an MFA in the Study and Writing of Childrens Literature from Hollins College. She has published stories in Highlights and Pockets magazines, is a member of SCBWI, and has worked as a book reviewer for Childrens Literature.
Discussion Questions: Standard 3; Benchmark 3
- Why was Mud Boy so proud of his new name? Who gave it to him, and what kind of a relationship did those two have?
- Why were both Lily and V grounded? Why was everyone so quick to assume that V had probably killed Lily’s plant? Why does she feel that Marybeth is against her?
- Lilly’s science project was about how birth order affects personality. How do you think the kids’ family status changed when they became a blended family?
- How do Mom and Frank fit into this family? What would they each have to say about this family if asked to speak for themselves, as the kids have in this book?
- How did the family atmosphere change when the decision was made to have the rock-paper-scissors tournament? How can you tell? Can you think of other joint projects that you have been involved with that changed your view of someone else?
Activities:
1) Eric keeps a journal so that he can express his own ideas even if no one else is listening. Start your own daily journal and make entries for two weeks about how you are getting along with other family members. Standard 3, Benchmark 2
2) Research “Rock-Paper-Scissors” on the Internet like Eric did. Create your own rock-paper-scissors tournament for your class. Standard 5, Benchmark 3
3) Pick a section of the book, and organize a short “Reader’s Theater” production with four different people playing the four parts in the book. Be sure your readers prepare carefully by considering how each person would feel when saying those words.
Standard 5, Benchmark 3
Similar Books for Further Reading:
Cruise, Robin. The top-secret journal of Fiona Claire Jardin
Hest, Amy, Where in the world is the perfect family?
Greene, Stephanie, Falling into place
Levinson, Marilyn, No boys allowed
Warner, Sally, Sister split