HONESTLY ELLIOTT
Grades 4 and Up
Gillian McDunn
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-54760-625-2
288 pp.
Summary
Elliott is being thrown a lot of curveballs at once: his parents´ divorce, a new half-sibling on the horizon, and a best friend who just moved away. Along with this, he is trying his best to manage the impulsivity and disorganization that accompanies his ADHD - and all together, these are making for a challenging school year. When his teacher assigns the class a project to create a business, he ends up partnered with Maribel, a popular and fastidious girl who, on the surface, seems like his polar opposite. However, it turns out that Maribel and Elliot share a love of cooking - a mutual interest that spawns not only their Desperation Pie business, but an unexpected friendship.
Curriculum Connections
Themes: family, friendship, divorce, ADHD.
Social/Emotional Learning
Elliott’s ADHD is an important theme in this story. While his brain can make things more challenging, such as organization, it also makes him creative and empathetic. The recent film, The Disruptors, highlights the challenges and power of ADHD, featuring a number of successful and well-known individuals with ADHD. Check out the associated website for links to the film and other ADHD resources.
Research the individuals featured in the film or other famous people with ADHD here.
Cooking/Health
Maribel is not able to eat gluten - but she still makes some delicious pies. Learn more about gluten and gluten sensitivity.
See The Dish on Gluten.
Try some gluten-free baking. See some great recipes here:
Make your own Desperation Pies!
Entrepreneurship
Elliott and Maribel are youth entrepreneurs. There are some amazing success stories of very young and successful businesspersons.
Bernstein, Daryl. Better Than a Lemonade Stand: Small Business Ideas for Kids. Aladdin/Beyond Words, 2012.
Bridges, Moziah, and Tamica Morris. Mo’s Bows: A Young Person’s Guide to Start-Up Success. Running Press, 2019.
Toren, Adam, and Matthew Toren. Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas! Business Plus Media Group, 2009.
Yamada, Kobi. What Do You Do With an Idea? Compendium, 2014.
Check out these videos and then brainstorm your own business ideas!
Me and the Bees video and website
Discussion Questions
Elliot’s divorced parents have very different homes and expectations of him. How does he manage these differences? Which house would you rather live in and why?
How do you think that Elliott’s teachers view him as a student? Do you think this is accurate? Why or why not?
Maribel and Elliott seem like unlikely partners for a business or friendship. What makes their partnership and friendship successful?
How does Elliot’s relationship with his father change over the course of the book? What contributes to these changes?
How does Elliot’s opinion of himself change over the course of the book? What contributes to these changes?
Author Online
Gillian McDunn began writing as a kid by dictating stories to her mom and then making books by stapling the pages together. In the course of her career, she’s tackled many different kinds of writing, including technical writing, public relations, web content, journalism, grant writing, and educational writing – and now children’s books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children, where she loves reading and writing, cooking, travel, photography, painting, board games, and more. Find her on Instagram.
Companion Books
A Place at the Table
Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan. (Clarion, 2022)
Sixth-graders Sara – a Pakistani American who hates to cook – and Elizabeth, a white Jewish girl, both have their share of troubles when they meet in a cooking class, and bond over a plan to create a marvelous cross-cultural dish and win a spot on a local food show.
All You Knead Is Love
Tanya Guerrero (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2021)
In spite of family troubles, Alba doesn’t want to go stay with her estranged grandmother in Barcelona – but when she does, she not only discovers a passion for baking, but learns to understand herself and her family as well.
Close to Famous
Joan Bauer (Puffin, 2012)
Twelve-year-old Foster and her mom flee her mom’s abusive boyfriend and end up in the little town of Culpepper, where they find unexpected support from the locals, and Foster, who dreams of hosting her own cooking show, begins baking for the town coffee shop. She even gets help with her dyslexia and learns to read.
Roll With It
Jamie Sumner (Atheneum, 2020)
Ellie has problems - not least of which is the cerebral palsy that keeps her in a wheelchair - but she's determined to realize her dream of becoming a celebrity chef.
All You Knead Is Love
Tanya Guerrero (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2021)
In spite of family troubles, Alba doesn’t want to go stay with her estranged grandmother in Barcelona – but when she does, she not only discovers a passion for baking, but learns to understand herself and her family as well.
Because of the Rabbit
Cynthia Lord (Scholastic, 2021)
Homeschooled Emma has been looking forward to meeting friends in fifth grade – until she’s paired on a project with Jack, who can’t stay on topic, interrupts, and generally doesn’t fit in. However the two learn to understand their differences as they bond over a rescue rabbit.
Eggs Over Evie
Alison Jackson (Henry Holt, 2010)
Evie’s celebrity-chef dad is starting a new life with second wife Angie, who is expecting twins, and Evie is struggling with her family’s changes. When she enrolls in summer cooking classes, however, she finds new friends, new confidence, and a new talent. Each chapter ends with a recipe.