{"product_id":"the-not-so-boring-letters-of-private-nobody-isbn-9780735227996","title":"The Not So Boring Letters of Private Nobody","description":"\u003cb\u003eA trio of seventh graders become one another's first friends as they discover the secrets of a Civil War soldier in this middle grade novel for fans of Gordon Korman and Jack Gantos.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwelve-year-old Oliver Prichard is obsessed with the Civil War. He knows everything about it: the battles, the generals, every movement of the Union and Confederate Armies. So when the last assignment of seventh-grade history is a project on the Civil War, Oliver knows he'll crush it--until he's partnered with Ella Berry, the slacker girl who does nothing but stare out the window. And when he finds out they'll have to research a random soldier named Private Raymond Stone who didn't even fight in any battles before dying of some boring disease, Oliver is sure he's doomed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Ella turns out to be much more interesting than Oliver expected, and Oliver's lunch buddy Kevin Kim comes to their project's rescue as head writing consultant. Things seem to be going pretty okay until Oliver discovers some big secrets buried in the past--and the present. Oliver knows he can unravel the mystery. But as he keeps digging, he has to decide if it's worth blowing up the project--and his newfound friendships--in order to discover the truth.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Not-So-Boring Letters of Private Nobody\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A couple of tech savvy seventh-graders that readers will love getting to know go digging for a civil war soldier with a secret and discover themselves. Matthew Landis’s novel is the best kind of time travel as past and present cross-dissolve.” —Richard Peck, Newbery Medal-winning author of \u003ci\u003eA Year Down Yonder\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Matthew Landis depicts the world of middle school with laser-like clarity, big-hearted warmth, and abundant humor, while also managing to bring Civil War history vividly to life.  There’s even a little romance thrown in!  I wish I were still teaching just so I could hand this book to my favorite students.\" —Jordan Sonnenblick, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eDrums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“For seventh-grader Oliver, nothing’s fair when it comes to war, first love, or group projects. . . . Teacher Landis knows how middle schoolers work, and he shows his skill here.” —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Landis challenges readers to see history as more than ‘endless battles, dates, and generals.’ Each setting (school, homes, historical societies, reenactment practice field, and Gettysburg) adds another dimension to the characters and issues in this appealing novel.” —\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The story’s pace and romantic tension build as the students gel as a team, research primary sources, and create a documentary. The mystery they solve about Private Stone offers tension and interest, but it’s the chemistry between these two characters that is the real star.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oliver makes major missteps in navigating both the project and his “more than friends” interest in Ella, but with the help of his enthusiastic history teacher, Oliver reaches a more nuanced understanding of the Civil War and of his first crush.\" —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Author [Matthew Landis], himself an eighth grade social studies teacher, has produced an American history educator’s dream novel.” —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Connection \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A well spun plot with quick-fire dialogue. Civil War buffs might learn a thing or two from the notes, and school story fans will be thoroughly entertained.” —\u003ci\u003eBCCB \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eMatthew Landis slays boredom wherever it lurks in his eighth-grade social studies classroom. He lives in Doylestown, PA, with his wife and four kids, some chickens, and a boxer that acts much like the forgotten eldest child.\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Chapter One-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Project\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver knew Samantha wouldn’t know.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe asked anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Did you know that Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee both went to West Point?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSamantha whipped her dark hair back and copied down the homework posted on Mr. Carrow’s PowerPoint slide. Oliver had already done that. He was always the first one to his table in social studies and always had the homework copied down before Mr. Carrow started the welcome music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“No,” she said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Grant was an average student, but crazy-good at riding horses. Lee graduated second in his class.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I didn’t know that either.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“And they both fought in the Mexican-American War.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Really.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Really. I mean think about that—two guys who went to the same military school and fought the same enemy fighting \u003ci\u003eeach other\u003c\/i\u003e in the Civil War. How crazy is that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Uh-huh.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSamantha swiveled around to talk with a girl at the next table. Oliver didn’t really mind. Not everyone got how awesome the Civil War was, and that was okay. Awesome things still needed saying, and so he’d keep saying them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Grab a seat, gang,” Mr. Carrow called over the indie rock music he blared pretty much every day. He was wearing a blazer, which meant they were starting a new unit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lots to do, lots to do. So much that we probably won’t even get started and you’ll all fail the fourth marking period. Won’t that be sad. Probably get some emails from parents. Not yours, Tara—they gave up on you long ago.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaughter rippled through the class.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But seriously, today is a big day. Maybe the biggest in your seventh-grade career. There is a small chance that you’ll look back on this day and say, ‘That was the greatest day of my life: the day we launched our study of the American Civil War.’”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver pulsed with excitement. \u003ci\u003eFinally. \u003c\/i\u003eThey were going to study the thing he’d dedicated his life to. This was his arena—there was no chance of him not getting a hundred percent on this project. He would dominate and love every second of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I promise that your Civil War experience will not be the one I had in seventh grade—memorizing endless battles, dates, and generals.” Mr. Carrow’s eyes swept past Oliver, landing for just a second. “Battles are important, and we’ll study some of the big ones. And the generals who conducted the war were very interesting people, and we’ll look at some of them too. But to really understand the impact of the conflict you need to look at the regular people—the soldiers, nurses, and slaves. You have to look at the mothers, daughters, and sons on the home front, and free African Americans in the North. What was the war like for them? The combined answer to \u003ci\u003ethat\u003c\/i\u003e gives us a much better understanding of the war.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver’s grin turned into a flat stare. He couldn’t really disagree with Mr. Carrow; the teacher was a master of history. Literally—he had a degree that said master’s in history. But Oliver didn’t really get why he was downplaying battles, dates, and generals. Those things were what the war was made of. Oliver should know.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Now: We’ve got a seasoned Civil War buff in our midst—someone to fill us in when the textbook can’t.” Mr. Carrow smiled at Oliver. “Ollie, I hope you can give me some additional info when we dig into the battles.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Uh, yeah.” Oliver nodded. Okay. So all wasn’t lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Perfect. I want to lay out your unit project first. This is the lens that we’re going to use to view the entire war.” Mr. Carrow rapped his knuckles on a stack of worksheets. “Table captains, come and get ’em.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver basically ran up to the front table. He might have shoved Ian out of the way. He handed the worksheets out to his table and speed-read the directions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd he loved it all—almost. There was one issue: It was a partner project.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Oliver had found ways around that before. He wasn’t worried.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Maggie, read the directions for us, would you?” Mr. Carrow asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaggie’s straight black hair fell into her face as she leaned toward the paper. \u003ci\u003e“With a partner, explore the wartime experience of a Civil War contemporary. Your goal is to answer a two-pr . . .”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Two-pronged,” Mr. Carrow rescued.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A two-pronged question: How did your character impact the war, and how did the war impact your character?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thanks Maggie, great job. Max, give us the formats.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMax unslouched a bit and started reading. \u003ci\u003e“You may present your findings in one of the following formats: documentary, PowerPoint, trifold, or dramatic presentation. For specifics on each format, consult the rubric on the back side.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver had already decided on a trifold. Of course he would do a trifold. Why \u003ci\u003ewouldn’t\u003c\/i\u003e he do a trifold. He could fill it with tons of information and stand beside it dressed in his Civil War uniform. Maybe he could even bring his bayonet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Do we get to choose our partners?” asked Tommy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Let’s vote on it,” Mr. Carrow said. “Just kidding. This isn’t a democracy—it’s a somewhat benevolent dictatorship. Ian, I will define ‘benevolent’ for you after class. Dictator says, yes, you may choose your partners. But I reserve the right to reject any partnerships that could be harmful to your grade or my own sanity or both. You’ve got two minutes to figure that out. Go.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOliver pretended not to hear the directions. While everyone else ran to a best friend or scavenged the wasteland of leftover partners, he stuck to his seat. He began to sketch the layout of his trifold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Oliver, over here.” Mr. Carrow waved at him from a back table. “Need your help.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eYes. \u003c\/i\u003eHis abilities were already in demand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMr. Carrow motioned to the only student at the table. She was Oliver’s height but way skinnier. She was a beanstalk wearing too-big wrinkled jeans, a stained T-shirt, and a facial expression that wasn’t exactly a frown but close enough. Thick brown hair that she never brushed hung in her eyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was Ella Berry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I want you two to work together,” Mr. Carrow said.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Puffin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302076502245,"sku":"NP9780735227996","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780735227996.jpg?v=1767740750","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-not-so-boring-letters-of-private-nobody-isbn-9780735227996","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}