121 Express
- Publisher
- Orca Book Publishers
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2008
- Category
- NON-CLASSIFIABLE, School & Education, Bullying
- Recommended Age
- 9 to 12
- Recommended Grade
- 4 to 7
- Recommended Reading age
- 9 to 12
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781551439785
- Publish Date
- Mar 2008
- List Price
- $16.95
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781551439761
- Publish Date
- Mar 2008
- List Price
- $9.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781554695614
- Publish Date
- Mar 2008
- List Price
- $8.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
The students of the 121 Express are infamous for bad behavior and Lucas knows his role on the bus will determine his social standing at his new school.
Lucas is tired of being one of the nerds. When he attracts the negative attention of the cool troublemakers, he saves himself by teasing another kid. His ploy works and soon Lucas is right in the center of the mayhem on the bus. He loves his new found popularity, but when the fun and games push the bus driver to a nervous collapse and hospitalizes an elderly lady, Lucas begins to question his choices.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
About the author
MONIQUE POLAK écrit régulièrement pour le Montreal Gazette et a été publiée dans de nombreux autres quotidiens de renom tels que le Globe and Mail, le National Post et Newsday. Dans la collection SideStreets, elle a écrit All In et On the Game, ainsi que Flip Turn pour la collection Sports Stories. D’ailleurs, ces deux derniers ouvrages ont figuré sur la liste des meilleurs livres pour enfants du Centre du livre jeunesse canadien. Monique enseigne l’écriture ainsi que la littérature anglaise. Elle vit à Montréal, au Québec, avec son mari et sa fille.
MONIQUE POLAK is the author of 26 novels for young readers, as well as two non-fiction titles and a board book. Her books Hate Mail, Room for One More, and the historical novel What World is Left, which was inspired by her mother’s experience during the Holocaust, were all winners of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children’s and YA Literature.
Her books have also been nominated for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the Arthur Ellis Award, and several have been selected as Best Books for Children and Teens by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
She is also a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Macleans, and Postmedia newspapers across the country, and is a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada’s Plus on est de fous, plus on lit Monique lives in Montreal, Quebec, where she teaches English and Humanities at Marianopolis College.
Awards
- Commended, American Library Association (ALA) Popular Paperback for Young Adults
Excerpt: 121 Express (by (author) Monique Polak)
"Cut it out!" the driver shouted. He might have said it again, but I couldn't tell for sure over all the noise.
In a weird way, I was having fun. When some of the kids around me started laughing, I laughed too. I reached for the ball of paper that had landed on the floor and threw it as hard as I could toward the back of the bus.
"Hey, new guy!" a voice called. "You pitch like a girl!"
I bristled. It was my own fault; I'd called attention to myself.
I knew whatever I did next was important. This was what my mom would call a defining moment. She says life is all about defining moments, only most people miss them. They're too busy doing other stuff.
Editorial Reviews
"Teens will appreciate the desire to fit in with the cool crowd and will laugh at the pranks."
Puget Sound Council for Review of Children's Media
"The plot and characters...provide good basic morals for teens who read at a lower level. Recommended."
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
"Explores weighty topics - racism, self-respect, compassion - without preaching, through an honest narrator to whom readers can relate."
Montreal Review of Books (MRB)
