From jacket: Janie's mother started a knitting business just so Janie's family could move and Janie could go to a better school. But Janie is poorer than her new classmates and she doesn't fit in. When her mother's business falls apart, Janie thinks of a way to help her family. But it means she will stand out even more. Is she strong enough to face the challenge? (The 500 names comes from when Janie goes to school everyday wearing the personalized sweaters her mother made but that were returned by the specialty boutique when name sweaters went out of style.)

Janie's parents move so she can go to a better school, but she feels out of place because all of the students have more money than she does. It could be used in the classroom by having real discussions about what the important things in life are, and you could have students make real-world connections.

This book tells the story of Janie and her journey from a very poor school to a ritzy school. Janie's family is poor, but her mother works hard to make enough money so their family can move. But when Janie's mother's venture in making sweaters turns poorly, Janie decides to market the sweaters herself by wearing one each day. Together, Janie and her parents make ends meet and Janie begins to fit in at her new school.
Genre: realistic fiction
Critique: This book is a good example of realistic fiction because it tells a realistic story of a girl who switches schools and is dealing with the effects of poverty. The story shows how she grows through her experience of changing schools and learning how to be comfortable in her own skin.
Media: pencil

Review: The book is about a girl named Janie who lives in a poor part of town and goes to a school that is literally falling apart. When Janie's mom notices the education that Janie is getting is not good she knows she needs to go to a better school. Her family cannot afford this because her dad does not work from an injury and her mom makes very little money. Janie's mom decides that she is going to knit sweaters for a speciality store and that is going pay for her family to move to the suburbs so that Janie can go to a better school. Janie starts school and she does not fit in because all her classmates live in big houses and have new clothes that fit them. Janie's clothes are falling apart and too small on her. Shortly after the move Janie's mom is not able to sell sweaters at the store any longer and now she has tons of knitted sweaters that didn't sell. Janie decides that instead of getting new clothes for the school year she will just wear the sweaters that her mom knitted even though they have other people's names on them. Janie is a strong girl and pushes through all the teasing she gets about having other people's names on her clothes. In the end Janie's mom decided to cell her sweaters on her own to pay for a place for her family to live so that Janie can go to a good school.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Genre Critique: This book is a good example of a realistic fiction book because the events that take place in the story could all happen in real life. There are a lot of children who could relate to Janie because she goes to a school that is run down and poor and she lives in a low income part of town. There are a lot of children who live in situations like this, although I do not think schools would be aloud to operate if they were in the condition that the school was described like in the book. There are also children who could relate to Janie that move to new communities and go to a different school. Children like Janie struggle to fit and search for things that they can do just to fit it.

Plot Critique: In this story there are many conflicts that happen. The conflicts in the story keep you involved and they help move the story along at a quick pace. The main conflict that stems all of the other conflict in the story is person against society. All of the conflict that happens in the book happens because Janie and her family have very little money. Throughout the whole book different conflicts arise because of her family being poor. ( )

Janie is a new girl at school. She comes from a family with very little money into a school of kids with big houses and fancy clothes. Her mother knits sweaters and puts customers' names on them. This helps bring in some income, but then the store owner gives them all back. Janie eventually starts wearing them all to school. She tells people that the names on the sweaters are her middle names. Janie's bravery starts a new trend and does good things for her family and helps her to make a new friend,

Good book for having discussions about new kids at school...what they go through. Also could start conversations about those who have more or less than others. ( )