My Life as a Book

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade humor
• Originally Published: 2010
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 880L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 33 chapters; approx. 240 pages; approx. 2 hours, 25 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict:  The plan for a fun and mischievous summer that 12-year-old Derek Fallon envisioned might be curtailed when his parents send him to Learning Camp. However, Derek turns his attention to investigating a family secret and discovers that stories take on forms other than books.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Labels in learning (“reluctant learner”)

Janet Tashjian, Author

• Bio: Born in 1956; raised in East Providence, Rhode Island; writer of middle grade and young adult fiction; worked in sales before deciding to become a writer; enjoys reading nonfiction for leisure; worked with teen son and illustrator Jake Tashjian on several titles in the My Life as a Book series; currently lives in Los Angeles
• Other Works: Tru Confessions (1997); The Gospel According to Larry (2001); Fault Line (2003); For What It’s Worth (2012); My Life as a Stuntboy (second in the My Life series; 2015)
• Awards: A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year selection (2011)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Power of Alternative Approaches to Learning
• Human Lives as Stories
• Overcoming Obstacles

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: