Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

Rating: Needs Parent Supervision (bullying, evolution)

Reading Level: Middle School

A mutated microorganism escapes a lab and is discovered by some unsuspecting kids.

Possible concerns:

• Evolution. Talk of microbes mutating and evolving naturally.
• Discussion of Population growth. The human population growth is very briefly discussed as a reality. I know this can be a sensitive topic for large families.
• Boys, crushes are mentioned here and there. A vice principal and doctor are described as cute.
• Comments about girls’ beauty. One girl is described as the “prettiest girl in school”
• One girl is called a goody two shoes. She doesn’t understand what’s so.bad about being good.
• Divorce, feeling left out from friends for summers spent with the other parent.
• Bullying. A kid is violent, threats, and terrorizes another kid. Eventually he puts the threats into action.
• Lashing out in response to bullying. A boy lashes out on his family, struggles at school, etc.
• Name calling: buttface, thumb sucking coward.
• Cell phones. One girl says, “You should get a cell phone. When the girl replies, “But we can’t use them at school!” The original girl says, “But you can use it after school.”. The implication is that she’s not cool if she doesn’t have one.
• A kid tells his siblings to “shut up“
• Use of the term: “sucks“: “That sucks” when a kid describes his parents’ mean comment.
• Discouraging parents. A kid recalls a parent saying, “Why should we celebrate the day you were born?” when they didn’t do anything for his birthday.

I liked how the mathematical concept of exponential growth is displayed. I also like that there is a strong, smart, brave female hero with dark skin.