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Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Unavailable
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Unavailable
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Audiobook3 hours

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

Written by Lauren Tarshis

Narrated by Mamie Gummer

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Emma-Jean Lazarus is the smartest-and definitely the strangest-girl at William Gladstone Middle School. Her fellow seventh graders don't understand her. But that's okay, since Emma-Jean doesn't understand them either. Emma-Jean has always considered it prudent to keep her distance, to observe from afar. Until one afternoon, when she walks into the girls' room and discovers Colleen Pomerantz sobbing at the sink.
Colleen is one of those girls who cares a lot! About everything! And now the meanest girl in school is trying to steal her best friend, and the only one who seems to care is Emma-Jean Lazarus.
So our story begins, in the girls' room, as two very different girls begin a journey that is sure to send one of them tumbling out of a tree . . .
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 13, 2007
ISBN9780739355688
Unavailable
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Author

Lauren Tarshis

Lauren Tarshis lives in Westport, Connecticut.

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Reviews for Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

Rating: 3.9029369411764705 out of 5 stars
4/5

170 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely charming!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Delightful.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Already another book is out on Emma Jean. Girls will like this book. Attempt at righting the wrongs in a middle school world. Told by 2 different characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Touching story of seventh grade girls dealing with their issues and lives for middle school readers. Emma Jean's father passed away over a year ago and Emma Jean and her mom have a great relationship which helps Emma Jean as she "solves" some of her friends problems. I will look forward to reading more by Lauren Tarshis.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Maybe 4.5 stars. Folks in the industry talk about reluctant readers as if they're all boys. Well, if you've got a 10-12 yo girl who needs just the right book, try this one. It's early spring, 7th-grade, and in just a couple hours read addresses complex issues inside two different girls, and their families, and their school. Also would be great for dads who don't understand their girls.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Children's Books Too Cool For SchoolEmma-Jean Lazarus (what a delicious name!) is not quite like her seventh grade peers. While a keen observer of their behaviors and social interactions, she nonetheless remains a little aloof from them all. Highly literal, and almost painfully logical, Emma-Jean doesn't really attract the friendship of her peers either -- they think her just a tad weird and mostly remain indifferent to her. However, one day, Emma-Jean finds a fellow classmate crying in the bathroom, and Emma-Jean perceives (in the classmate’s various wailings about a best friend's betrayal) a plea for help. Ever the logical problem-solver, Emma jean applies her analytical mind to the issue and soon comes up with a, frankly, morally dubious solution. However, to Emma-Jean, it seems she's done just the right thing -- solved her new friend's problem.Emma-Jean soon finds other problems to solve for her classmates, but doesn't realize the ripple-effects her various unusual-if-logical solutions are creating. It seems that there is one problem Emma-Jean hasn't been able to puzzle out quite yet -- the mysteries of the human heart and mind.This book is charming and chuckle-worthy (with the occasional laugh-out-loud moment), but without stooping to humor at the expense of others -- especially the rather obvious target of Emma-Jean. Emma-Jean, while not formerly diagnosed, would be familiar to most reader's who know someone diagnosed with some of the milder forms of Autism or Asperger's syndrome. While the humor often derives from the disconnect between how Emma-Jean perceives her world and how the world is really structured (a sort of dramatic irony), the subtle jabs are more often aimed at the rather silly ins and outs of "normal" human behavior, rather that Emma-Jeans clearly logical analysis.Emma-Jean is a very short read, but manages to pack lots of action, humor, and even several very touching moments into a small little package. The pacing is great (and I don't often concern myself with pacing), but Emma-Jean's larger-than-average vocabulary will rule out reluctant readers, and some portion of its target audience who doesn't want to read with a dictionary handy. Frankly, it may be one of those children’s books that has more appeal for its adult readers... but then again, that’s what I am! Best for girls, of course, and I'm going to go against the ideas of most reviewers and recommend it for 11-13. Think of it as a younger kid’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Emma-Jean is the smartest person in her grade. She’s a whiz at understanding facts, but not so smart at understanding her peers, which means she does not have any friends her own age. All this changes when Emma Jean decides to use her powers of logic to solve a fellow seventh grader's problem. Unfortunately, Emma Jean soon discovers that people’s problems can be messy and often defy logic. Will Emma-Jean decide that making friends is worth the mess?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Emma-Jean is different from most of the other kids at school. She would much rather observe her classmates like the flora and fauna she loves so much, rather than interact with them. However, Emma-Jean overhears one of her classmates one day and decides to help her solve her problem. This leads to uch more trouble than either girl ever expected. I liked the message of acceptance and pre-thinking consequences but the story was a little odd.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    7th grader Emma Jean Lazarus is an odd duck. She's very smart, and tends to scientifically observe other students rather than joining in their conversations and activities. When she finds Colleen crying in the bathroom, Emma Jean decides to work out a logical way to help her, and she ends up forging a letter to alter the course of events. While it seems successful, Emma Jean doesn't plan for the new problems her solution has created! She also decides to try solving some other problems, including a jock's unfair grade, a teacher's car problems and her upstairs Indian neighbor's love life -- some more successfully than others. While not everything in the story is completely believeable, Emma Jean's character is wonderful and different -- you'll find yourself rooting for her at every turn, especially against the mean girl. 6th grade and up.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love this funny, lovely book about Emma-Jean Lazarus.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Emma Jean series is sweet and smart. Specifically, the audio versions are fabulous! The reader, Mamie Gummer, narrated the second title as well and I simply cannot imagine meeting Emma Jean and Colleen without hearing their voices, their inflections and their oh-so-spot-on observations, always told in their deadpan or super-enthusiastic tones. Even if you have already read these, go listen to them, they deserve a second look, or listen!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really, really liked this one. Emma-Jean's logical approach to life is a little hard to get to grips with, but her delight in moments, such as her parrot's head chucking her chin, is easy to identify with. Emma-Jean has always stood as an observer outside the strange social world of her seventh grade classmates. But when someone asks her for help, she realised that she can use her reasoning skills to affect the world. The wiritng is understated and just lovely. I'd give this to tween readers looking for a school story, and maybe even a mystery story. I greatly look forward to the sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very quirky - Emma Jean was a fun character to get to know and I was glad enough to see that there was going to be a sequel since she would be someone I'd like to keep in touch with to see how her fictional life was going. I don't know that I agree with the placement of this book on the children's list - not because there is anything inappropriate in the book - far from it - just the themes and concerns of the characters are very middle school and I'm not sure that there would be as much of an audience in the 3rd-5th grade crowd. Who knows though... I think most teachers would agree we've all met an Emma Jean in our time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Emma-Jean is quite a character. An observer of other seventh graders, she decides to try to help a couple people with their problems after talking with Colleen in the bathroom. There's the queen bee and a host of other recognizable middle school stock characters. But Emma-Jean is unique and likeable with all her quirkiness. A sweet, quick read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Sensible, and somewhat socially outcast Emma Jean applies the cold blade of logic to other people's problems. She helps Coleen after Colleen is snubbed by a friend. She tries to set up her mom with their tenant. These efforts have an Amelia Bedelia-esque nature in which there are unforeseen consequences which necessitates Emma's re-interference. The book is sweet but a little too much so as Emma, after falling out the the tree, is embraced by her peers and gets the boy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really liked this book. I thought Emma Jean was an interesting character and that students who feel like they don't quite fit in will relate to her. Emma Jean's perspective about the goings-ons of her classmates is both humorous and naive. Her intentions are good, but her inexperience with social situations makes for interesting and entertaining outcomes. I think both girls and boys will get a kick out of Emma Jean.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Emma Jean sees the world a bit differently from most of the seventh graders at her school. She is a master of observation, though she doesn't always understand why people act the way they do. She remains detached and it's very hard to get under her skin, so even though she doesn't have any friends her age, she's not bothered by that fact. When she comes upon Colleen crying in the bathroom, Emma Jean discovers that she can use her problem-solving abilities to help her fellow students. And so she proceeds to "help" Colleen with a project that eventually backfires mightily. Colleen is pretty much the exact opposite of Emma Jean. She lets EVERYTHING get under her skin and is quite prone to crying in the bathroom (or her bedroom or her church or the car or...). At first grateful for Emma Jean's listening ear, Colleen is horrified when she finds out what Emma Jean's done to help. Colleen is certain her life is over. When she's finally able to talk out her problems, she finds that maybe what Emma Jean did was not so bad. And maybe Colleen needs to take another look at her own perceptions of the people in her life. I feel like I say this about every book I like, but Emma Jean has unforgettable characters and it's both funny and touching. This book explores the meaning of friendship and popularity without being preachy or scandalous. I really enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Quirky middle school girl tries to solve the problems of her classmates.