Fish in a Tree

This book is fantastic. I cannot put it down! Teachers and students alike should read Fish in a Tree. It is a truly inspiring story of friendship and creativity.

Ally is a 6th grader that’s always getting into trouble. None of her teachers have enjoyed her presence. The principal’s office is a daily visiting place for Ally. She also has uncontrollable urges that are far from socially normal, so she is the target for the class bullies. The truth is that Ally does not want to be a troublemaker. She wants to do her work and she wants to do it right, but there’s a big issue that constantly stops her. Ally has a secret that she’s come this far without any teacher finding out: she can’t read. This year, Ally has a teacher that might change her life- Mr. Daniels. He makes a promise to never send her to the principal’s office. Ally can’t hide her secret from Mr. Daniels, but he is determined to help her learn instead of pushing her away like every other teacher has.

The author of Fish in a Tree so beautifully captures the mind of a student who has been labeled her entire life. Ally cannot read, yet she has a fiercely creative mind, she’s an outstanding artist, and she is amazing at math. On page 159, Mr. Daniels encourages Ally after the kids in her class make fun of her and she has a meltdown:

“Now, don’t be so hard on yourself, okay? You know, a wise person once said, ‘Everyone is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, you will spend its whole life thinking that it’s stupid.'”

I think hard about that. Could it be that simple?

A mind movie flickers in my brain of an angry fish at the bottom of a tree, banging on the trunk with its fins and complaining that it can’t climb it.

I think of a turtle making a sandwich.

A snake playing the violin.

An elephant knitting.

Penguins playing basketball.

An eagle scuba diving.

But mostly I hope with every tiny bit of myself that Mr. Daniels is right about all of this.

I love this part of the book, because it shows Mr. Daniels’ belief in Ally, and it shows Ally’s wild imagination. Throughout the story, Ally has “mind movies,” which she draws in her notebook. She is always imagining things, and if people could only see the way that her mind works, they would realize how intelligent she really is. She secretly knows the answers to many of the questions in class, but she does not raise her hand for fear of being wrong. She has been hiding her whole life. How has no one seen it?

Ally’s experience throughout school has unfortunately been what many students have to face- teachers that do not want to deal with a difficult student, and classmates that bully that student. However, she finally has a teacher that cares. She has never had friends, but she has befriended the two other misfits of the class. Together, they are ready to take down the bullies. I cannot wait to read what happens next! I think that Ally is going to be diagnosed with dyslexia, but I will have to keep reading.