Unlikely Friendship Between Two Boys Who Have Nothing in Common - Except a Common Enemy

Hello, Readers!

This week fourth graders are discussing Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. In this story, the experiences during the first week of school are told through alternating, viewpoints of 5th graders, Joe and Ravi.

Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL. Joe’s lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi’s family just moved to America from India, and he’s finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.

Joe and Ravi don’t think they have anything in common – but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week. The book is filled with humor and empathy as it explores issues of diversity, culture, assumptions and parenting styles. Readers are led down the path of thinking about what it feels like to walk in someone else's shoes.

Discussion questions can be found here. In addition, visit the grade 4 page for more links to sites and activities related to the book.

Happy reading!