Three Boys Skip School and Go on a Modern-Day Quest to Honor a Teacher None of Them Will Ever Forget

Hello, Readers!

This week fifth graders are discussing Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson. This funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking story is told from the points of view of three different characters: Topher, Brand, and Steve, all of whom are students in Ms. Bixby's sixth grade classroom at Fox Ridge Elementary School.

When Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she won't be able to finish the school year, Topher, Brand, and Steve come up with a risky plan - more of a quest, really - to give Ms. Bixby the last day she deserves. Through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand what Ms. Bixby means to each of them - and what the three of them mean to each other.

Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers. The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard, the ones who stopped trying long ago. The ones you’ll never remember, and the ones you want to forget. Ms. Bixby is none of these. She’s the sort of teacher who makes you feel like school is somehow worthwhile. Who recognizes something in you that sometimes you don’t even see in yourself. Whom you never want to disappoint. What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind.


Through the character's trials and tribulations, we learn that "courage is knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." Kudos to author John David Anderson for writing an amazing and beautiful story. This book will remind you of your most remarkable teachers, your friends, your parents, your siblings, your struggles, your favorite books and quotes. It's a winner.

Discussion questions can be found here, and other links to author John David Anderson's books and website can be found on the Grade 5 page.

Happy reading!