The internet has allowed people and organizations to post information and share resources in a much more efficient manner. In my youth, we may have asked the question, but because of available resources, we probably could not have answered it, at least not in a timely fashion. The time period for our children is different from that of my youth. It’s always just a bunch of white guys.” And then later, the realization that, “It doesn’t mean they weren’t there.” Ben begins searching. He asks the kind of question that many of our children who do not see themselves reflected on the pages of history books wonder about: Were there Mexican pioneers?īen goes on to say: “I’ve never seen any in the pictures.

Ben sees that escabeche can be their entry for the fair. They frequently serve escabeche, or pickled vegetables, at their Mexican restaurant. If they don’t, they will lose their funding from the PTA and that will be the end of the Pickle Club and the secret Prank Club. For Pioneer Day, Ben and his friends have to present something pickled for the Pioneer Fair. There are lessons here in action and reaction, consequences and the impact of our decisions, and they are all told masterfully through the eyes and comedy of young Ben Diaz.Īs an adult reader, what resonated with me was the very real problem of what isn’t in our history books. Spoiler alert: It’s made of the strong stuff. Ben learns about himself, his new friends, and just how ‘off’ we can be when we try to label each other, but most of all he learns what kind of friendship he and Oliver really have. Throughout the mayhem, lessons are woven in. (Oliver’s grandmother is the school principal and Oliver, well, Ben thinks Oliver just can’t be trusted to keep the secret.) Reading it, I found myself wondering what the halls of my school would look like if there were bubbles in the fountains or impromptu parties in the classrooms. Due to an earlier incident, Ben does not invite his best friend Oliver into the club. Ben Diaz, the main character, creates a Prank Club, under the guise of a Pickle Makers Club. Beyond the laughter, they will identify with the ever-changing landscape of middle school friendships.

Kids will laugh out loud, and they may even go scrambling to create their own prank clubs. There are so many ways to talk about Pickle because it really is a perfect middle-grade novel. The book opens with this line: Can I trust you? She had me hooked right there, with all that the question implies. Kim Baker had me laughing from the first page. MY TWO CENTS: Now, if the description above won’t get a child to pick up a book, I’m not sure what will. And you absolutely will not find instructions on how to log in to a top-secret prank instruction website anywhere on these pages. There is no Prank and Trick Association at Fountain Point Middle School.

Pickle by kim baker