Where the Steps Were by Andrea Cheng.

Pleasant Hill Elementary School will be torn down after this year.  This novel in verse tells the story of that final year as experienced by the third graders in Miss D’s class.  From learning about how to get along with one another to learning about great figures in history, we get to experience life in their world.  Some of the students are dealing with problems of jealousy and friendship while others grapple with more pressing issues like homelessness. 

Cheng excels at writing poetry that children will immediately relate to and understand.  She moves skillfully from humor to seriousness and back, weaving her poems into the experience of a year.  There are also small glimpses of Miss D’s personal life as she struggles with her own son.  This deft humanizing of a teacher is also important for children to see.

Highly recommended as a classroom read, this book may not fly off the shelves on its own, but will be appreciated by any student who opens it.  Appropriate for ages 8-10.