Brand, Steve, and
Topher are all in Ms. Bixby‘s sixth grade classroom. Steve and Topher have been
friends since the first grade when they met playing Legos. Brand has only been at
their school since last year, but they formed a fast friendship. Their teacher, Ms. Bixby has
touched their lives through moments that made them feel
special and important. Moments nobody else knows about. So they take it hard when
they find out that Ms. Bixby has pancreatic cancer and won’t be finishing out the school year. She tells them when her last day will be and
the class plans a big party. Unfortunately, Ms. Bixby doesn’t come to school the
next week and they learn she won’t be back, not even for the party. The boys devise
a plan to do something special for their teacher. Their plan changes after
they overhear that she's moving from the hospital in
Boston to a treatment facility out of state. They've never skipped school before, but they make a foolproof plan. What'd they decide to do? Let’s just say it
involves an expensive cheesecake, some wine, a scary man named Hazel, books,
and buses. Will they pull off the special events they've planned?
Is it possible to give someone a perfect day? How can they pay for their
teacher’s favorite cheesecake when they learn it costs a lot more than they'd thought? You’ll have to read this tearjerker to find out.
Ms. Bixby‘s Last Day by John David Anderson is the first book I’ve read by this author. Being told from three different characters’ points of view gives readers a good idea about what’s happening in each scene. The
characters are unique and different, but all still friends. Some things
that happened in the story I could see kids getting in a lot of trouble for!
The cheesecake plays an important role in the book and I went from wanting a
piece- to maybe not wanting a piece. I
loved that Miss Bixby was caring and made a connection with the
boys (and I’m sure many others). It’s always wonderful when kids feel special
and think a teacher is singling them out for something they’re good
at or appreciating one of their personality traits. Honestly, I’m not sure how
many teachers would want their students visiting them when they’re at a hospital
getting ready for major surgery, but the end of the book was touching and
definitely made me cry. I think a lot of adults will appreciate all the references to movies that were taking place in the 70s and 80s, like The Godfather and The Princess Bride. I would recommend this book to anyone in fourth
grade and up who likes realistic fiction and reading books from different
character perspectives. Although this book has laughter and sadness, there’s also a lot of action.
Has anyone else read Ms. Bixby’s Last Day? Or have you read
another book by John David Anderson? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Happy Reading!
~ L
