This was one of our read aloud books in 4th grade this year. The kids absolutely loved it! The plot follows a family from Flint, Michigan in the year 1963. The majority of the book contains the ordinary and hilarious antics of "the weird Watsons." When the oldest brother, Byron, breaks the rules one more time, the family heads south to drop him of at his grandmother's in Birmingham. The ending gets so crazy that we decided to reread and discuss it several times. All in all, a fantastic piece of historical fiction.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting over-the-top prison stories without much else. I found quite the opposite. Moose is a middle-school aged kid bummed about his family's move to Alcatraz. His sister Natalie is one of the more interesting characters I've encountered from children's books in this genre. My kids have really gotten into this one lately.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting over-the-top prison stories without much else. I found quite the opposite. Moose is a middle-school aged kid bummed about his family's move to Alcatraz. His sister Natalie is one of the more interesting characters I've encountered from children's books in this genre. My kids have really gotten into this one lately.

I loved this book and recommend it to all my 4th grade students. The story follows a middle-school student named Rebecca. In the beginning, her life appears to be happy and ordinary. Suddenly, everything changes. One night, her parents get into a terrible fight, and her mom decides to move the family from Baltimore to Georgia to live with Gran. In Gran's attic, Rebecca ends up finding a magical breadbox. Will the magic be strong enough to make her family whole again? Bigger than a Breadbox is absolutely fantastic. It is so beautifully written. Laurel Snyder is wonderful.

I loved this book and recommend it to all my 4th grade students. The story follows a middle-school student named Rebecca. In the beginning, her life appears to be happy and ordinary. Suddenly, everything changes. One night, her parents get into a terrible fight, and her mom decides to move the family from Baltimore to Georgia to live with Gran. In Gran's attic, Rebecca ends up finding a magical breadbox. Will the magic be strong enough to make her family whole again? Bigger than a Breadbox is absolutely fantastic. It is so beautifully written. Laurel Snyder is wonderful.