Fish in a Tree

Author: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Fish in a Tree  is about a young 6^th grader, Ally, who has struggled with reading her entire life. Every time she tries, the words swirl around the page, so she has spent most of her school years pretending she can read and getting upset when having to do reading/writing projects. But Ally’s struggles are getting harder to hide; and when Ally’s new teacher, Mr. Daniels, suggests she might be dyslexic, Ally starts to finally understand herself better and embrace who she is. This book is a very good portrayal of learning disabilities! While I’m not dyslexic, I have dyscalculia, which effects how I view numbers and which went unnoticed for years; and just like Ally, I didn’t realize I had it until middle school because I would pretend to understand math problems when in reality, I just didn’t get them. I loved how when Ally got her diagnosis, instead of viewing it as a burden, she ended up viewing it as a cool thing and even accepting it as part of her identity. I really hate how sometimes people write about disabled people in ways where they hate themselves for being disabled, so this was a nice change from the many ableist books out there. I also liked how Mr. Daniels was supportive of Ally and didn’t make her feel bad for being disabled. However, I noticed some reviews (mostly educators) criticizing the fact that Ally got diagnosed late and saying it was unrealistic but as someone who didn’t realize I was neurodivergent until middle school, I can tell you it’s more than possible to be diagnosed late. Overall, Fish in a Tree  is a sweet and heartfelt read that celebrates dyslexic kids.

“Well…alone is a way to be. It’s being by yourself with no one else around. And it can be good or bad. And it can be a choice…. But being lonely is never a choice. It’s not about who is with you or not. You can feel lonely when you are alone, but the worst kind of lonely is when you’re in a room full of people, but you’re still alone. Or you feel like you are anyway.”