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The Fourteenth Goldfish
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
28 posts | 44 read | 18 to read
Believe in the possible . . . with this "warm, witty, and wise" New York Times bestselling novel from three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer. Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far? Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. Hes bossy. Hes cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellies grandfather, a scientist whos always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth? With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility. Look for EXCLUSIVE NEW MATERIAL in the paperbackincluding Ellies gallery of scientists and other STEM-appropriate features. "Warm, witty and wise"The New York Times "Awesomely strange and startlingly true-to-life. It makes you wonder what's possible." -- Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me SUNSHINE STATE AWARD FINALIST! From the Hardcover edition.
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Jenken1998
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

Cute Middle grade read. 11 year old Ellie dislikes change. She unfortunately finds herself facing many of them as she starts middle school, becomes distant from her best friend, her mom begins dating, and her grandfather moves in. The catch is that her grandfather, a scientist, has reversed aging and is now a 13 year old boy. A cute read showing change at any age can be hard.

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Peddler410
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this more than I expected to.
Loved the relationship between Ellie and Melvin
The science was pulled in nicely.
Mostly, I liked the absence of school drama. Keeping the focus on Melvin‘s need to get into building 24 without adding any bullying or other school drama was huge in my enjoyment of this story.

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Peddler410
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Next up for #middlegradeMarch
I‘ve been told this is one not to be missed...we‘ll see!

#2020middlegrade

LibrarianRyan I love this one. 5y
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cosmicv1bes
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Mehso-so

interesting read, but there wasn‘t much of a plot. i wish there was a middle selection between “pick” and “so-so” because that‘s where this book stands for me. don‘t get me wrong, i love the characters and the concept, but this didn‘t carry it out in an way that had a strong plot. but for a fast read, it was pretty good. good read if you need something comforting.

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dianashultss
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Genre: Fiction, Novel
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Started reading : Tuesday, November 12th 2019
Why I chose this book: was recommended by a friend in previous years
summary: Ellie and her grandfather meet a boy named Raj, who then helps them retrieve the T. Melvinus back after her grandfather is kicked out of his science lab.
Finished: Monday, November 25th 2019
pages: 208 (1 book)

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YvetteE
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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The Fourteenth Goldfish is a SF book that is fun for all ages! What happens when an elder scientist who is your grandfather comes to your door as a teenage boy? This book is interesting and educational, as it mentions historical scientific contributions. #ucflae3414fl19

YvetteE https://www.novelstudies.org/downloads/The_Fourteenth_Goldfish_Novel_Study_Previ... 5th grade IR
This detailed lesson plan contains several strategies and principles that will help students engage and understand key vocabulary and concepts. To help with perception, teachers will offer ways of customizing the display of information and offer alternatives for auditory and visual information. Use direct instruction: Modeling, explain
(edited) 5y
DrSpalding Novel studies is a valuable resource. Yes this could be an independent read but it would be an option for a literature circle as well. Don‘t forget your codes. 5y
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SofiaRoselli
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

I would use this historical fiction novel in a literature circle. This novel is about 11-year-old Ellie. She misses her old best friend, she even misses her goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He‘s bossy, cranky, and strangely looks like her grandfather. Her grandfather is a scientist who has always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this young, pimply boy really be her grandpa?

SofiaRoselli This lesson plan I found comes with the literature unit on the book, extended activities and a book report form. The reading journal provide it would help students in their literature circles with figs to discuss. ESOL strategy two would work with this because students would be in small groups for literature circles. The literature circles and activities would help to maximize transfer and generalization of the book which is UDL strategy 3.4. 6y
wmaxflowers This book looks very interesting! I think the reading journal included in your lesson plan would be very helpful to students. (edited) 6y
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RealLifeReading
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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The last of the mooncakes and the book I‘ve been reading to the boys. I love that this fiction book talks about science and introduces various real-life scientists like Marie Curie and Jonas Salk to its young readers

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I just had my first mooncake! SO GOOD!! 6y
Dragon Yummy. I like the lotus and the red bean moon cakes. 6y
RealLifeReading @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled they are so good aren‘t they? 6y
RealLifeReading @dragon I love lotus paste mooncakes. In Singapore you can find so many strange new flavours like champagne truffle and chocolate but the traditional ones are the best 6y
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InLibrisVeritas
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

This turned out to be kind of cute! I love the focus on science and growing up, and adorable friendships that are formed. The grandfather is a bit overbearing at times, but sometimes it can be endearing. Definitely looking forward to reading the second one soon!

Another one down for #NEWTsreadathon2018!

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Aimeesue
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Giving this a quick read before it goes out (TSB and I are cleaning out his bookshelves and he decided to let this one go.) I have to keep it. 😄

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Graciouswarriorprincess
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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So I am finally reading again. I got really sick on Sunday night and found out that I had the flu. I finally am feeling better and decided to pick this up out of my TBR pile.

Rachbb3 Glad you're feeling better and you're reading again! 😀 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess @Rachbb3 Thank you. I can‘t return to work until Sunday but it feels good to be better and reading again after sleeping for three days. 7y
LibrarianRyan This is sooooo cute. 7y
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Bookworm83 I‘m so sorry you were sick but glad you are feeling better ❤️ This is such a cute book! 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess @Bookworm83 Thank you. I just finished it and it is a cute book. 7y
tpixie Oh my. Glad you are better!! 7y
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Avanders
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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#NovemberbytheNumber Still able to do these 😅 For #fourteen #14, I️ present you with the Fourteenth Goldfish 🐟 from my son‘s bookshelf (he‘s not even a year, so it‘s still kind of mine 😁)
@Tiffy_Reads @JoeStalksBeck

IamIamIam It's never too early to start! When my kids were small, I grabbed every condensed classic I could from Target's dollar section!!! Lol 7y
LibrarianRyan This book is awesome,, 7y
slategreyskies Two words: board books!!! My sons had an enormous collection of them (which they started off by chewing on and later ended up loving to look at the pics and be read to). Those chubby books made me so happy. Your library probably has a good selection of board books you could check out too. :) 7y
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Avanders @IamIamIam @slategreyskies oh I️ agree! Buggy‘s got an enormous collection of board books already... some are his favorites, some he just likes to chew on 😂 But he also has a bunch of “older kid” books on “his” shelves that we haven‘t explored much yet.... 🤗💖🤗 @LibrarianRyan good to know!! Thanks! ♥️♥️ 7y
IamIamIam My kids are destroy about everything BUT books!!! Lol, when my son was small, I went back and grabbed all my favorite storybooks for him and now both he and my daughter love those old classics. We have LOTS of Golden Books and a bunch of Strega Nona stories. Another big favorite is Leo Lionni. My son knew Swimmy by heart! Check out Sendak's One Was Johnny. My daughter reads it daily still!! 💜💜💜 7y
Avanders @IamIamIam ooh thanks for the recs! I️ have the one Strega Nona ... but didn‘t know there were more! And I️ don‘t know Leo Lionni, swimmy, or One Was Johnny! Will definitely check them out! So far, Buggy‘s favorites are anything with the Little Blue Truck, peek-a-who (and -boo), Room on the Broom, Oso Pardo (we happened to get that one in Spanish), Happy Bear, dum-ditty (?), & recently, the Wuzzles (build a fair or something like that 😁) 7y
IamIamIam We also love Sandra Boynton for board books! Cute rhyming stories and, aside from a few Dr. Seuss, they only kind of rhyming stories they liked! My son, who only stops moving when he's sleeping, always liked long books. At a year old, his favorite was The Little House, which was published in 1942! Also, Tikki Tikki Tembo! He had so much fun trying to say that great big long name!!! 😂 7y
Avanders @IamIamIam oh yes Boynton! I️ think we have a couple of hers that we haven‘t introduced yet ☺️ Awesome that he had that attention span by 1! I‘ve tried Tikki Tikki Tembo a few times (love that one), but he wasn‘t as into it .. yet. 😜 it‘s been a couple months, maybe he‘s ready now. 😁 (my son, like yours, never stops moving. Even when he‘s sleeping 😳) (edited) 7y
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EchoLogical
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Haven't read this one but it has #fourteen in the title! It was a really popular Elementary Grade Sunshine Book a few years ago. Sunshine Books are those selected by a committee of school librarians working on the behalf of the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) and the FL Dept of Education.

#NovemberByTheNumbers
@JoeStalksBeck @Tiffy_Reads

youngreadrshelf It's cute. You should check it out. 7y
EchoLogical @youngreadrshelf I definitely should! I'm such a slacker when it comes to elementary and middle grade reads. I usually stick to YA, picture books, and some beginning chapter books. 😥 7y
MarriedtoMrT @EchoLogical Ha! Same in the reading because YA for me and picture books/early chapters for the kids. I figure I may start dipping into MG when my girls are at that age. 7y
youngreadrshelf @MarriedtoMrT @EchoLogical well, keep this one in mind. It's one of the good ones. 7y
EchoLogical @MarriedtoMrT Lol. I probably shouldn't wait that long because I work in the kids department. 😅 7y
50 likes5 comments
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Bookwormjillk
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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It's been a long time since I wandered through the library, and randomly picked out books. Here's how I did today.

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Jennie748
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
Pickpick

This was super cute! I really loved the science!

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Chelsibno
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

This #audiobook brought back a lot of memories of those Disney Channel movies in which science goes awry. After her grandfather's cure for old age works, Ellie becomes interested in science and eventually grapples with the ethics of scientific discoveries. Despite its rather cliche beginning, the book actually becomes emotionally deep as the story progresses and the main characters must consider the ramifications of such a discovery.

Lmstraubie I loved the grandfather in this story! 7y
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LibrarianRyan
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Today's prompt is #smartass and I have to choose Grandpa from the 14th Goldfish. He smart. Really smart. He invented reverse aging. Having to live as a teenage again has made him a giant ass. But he learns. I loved this story. #characters2017.

julesG This sounds like a fun story. 8y
LibrarianRyan @julesG it is. And it's short. The audiobook is like 3 hours. 8y
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LibrarianRyan
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

So I listened to this short audiobook last week and I LOVED it. It's about a girl and her grandfather who discovers the secret to anti aging. Now he is 14 and has to love in with his daughter and granddaughter and attend school. This was soooo much fun. I wish I had read it sooner. And the character voices on the audiobook are amazing. It's only like 3 hours long. Pick it up!! #awesomeaudiobooks #marchintoreading

kathyellendavis Read the book and loved it too! 8y
awishman My 8 year old and I listened to this last summer. It was so good! 8y
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Alisoncavicchi
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
This post contains spoilers
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This realistic fiction novel has me so confused! Melvin is a grandpa who has come back to life, in the form of a 13 year old boy! He made a scientific discovery to reverse aging... but I don't get the goldfish part! Here's a great article that could be used to create a classroom debate about whether or not we should age https://www.google.com/amp/io9.gizmodo.com/the-fourteenth-goldfish-is-a-children... #UCFLAE3414sp17

DrSpalding I enjoy her work. My favorite is Turtle in Paradise. I have not read this however your summary makes me think that it is not realistic fiction. What other genre could it be? 8y
NicoleMaltby I actually think this book is realistic fiction as well. Although it is weird he reverted age so it might not be realistic in that aspect but it is talking about the jellyfish gene where they can live forever, and talks about many scientists and what they have done/accomplished in the book! 8y
NicoleMaltby (Sent my comment a little to early, but I also read the book and it is a little disappointing in my opinion.) 8y
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Yossarian
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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I thought I would join #litsypartyofone tonight, but I ended up with reading company, so I guess I can't make it.

Alisnazzy I'll allow it 😜 8y
Megabooks 💕💕💕 8y
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KafkaKitten
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

I thought this was really cute! Gotta love a science-enthused female protagonist in a kids' book. It also pairs quite well with cake, as most things do.

LeahBergen Cake seems to pair nicely with ALL books, I find. 😉 8y
18 likes1 comment
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KafkaKitten
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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My current lighthearted read is meant to cleanse my mind of all the heavy books I've been reading recently, and my new favorite bookmark is in there for good measure! 🐠

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LindsayReads
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Well hello, unexpected #rereads day. I was a bad librarian and forgot to reread The Fourteenth Goldfish for my Kids Book Club today, but like the absent-minded champ I am, I powered through a quickie reread. It's hard to find scifi--much less GOOD scifi--in MG, but this fits the bill. Fab female protag. Quirky. Funny. Like a non-depressing Tuck Everlasting. #booktober

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Lrcicchino
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
Pickpick

Testing this one out for my 4th graders! So fun and motivating for future scientists!

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bermudaonion
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

Great middle grade book about finding yourself that makes science fun!

Gulfsidemusing Cute cover, too! 9y
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youngreadrshelf
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Pickpick

Really good book for the middle grade reader. Can spur some good ethical discussions in science.

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youngreadrshelf
The Fourteenth Goldfish | Jennifer L. Holm
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Starting this one today. I've heard good things.

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