Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

I had never even heard of Because of Mr. Terupt when my son came home from school and told me that his grade 4/5 teacher was reading it out loud.  He loved it and wanted us to also read it together at home in the night at the same time she was reading it.  So of course, I went along with his plan!

It is amazing!!  I loved it!  The book is about a grade 5 class that gets a brand new teacher, Mr. Terupt.  The book focuses on 7 students in the class which each chapter written from a different student's perspective (which I believe is part of grade 4/5 curriculum!).  Mr. Terupt has so many fun ways of teaching that gets his class (and readers!) so excited and having fun while learning.  A great example is his lesson on dollar words - Google it!  

The students have to deal with many life issues in the class in the same way a regular class might have students dealing with issues such as weight, divorce, death, etc.

I would highly recommend this as a read aloud for any grade 4/5 classes.  My son loved it and so did I!  There is a sequel to the book Mr. Terupt Falls Again.  From the reviews I've read this book is good but not suitable as a read aloud and is best read by a mature grade 6/7.