A friendless girl, teased mercilessly at school because her uncle manages the town dump, finds a friend in Mrs. Fish, the school custodian, and gradually life becomes more bearable. ( )

Summary:
This is a chapter book about Joyce, "The Dump Queen". Joyce is a little girl who lives with her Uncle. Her uncle runs the local dump, and because of a misunderstanding, her peers think that she lives in the dump. Joyce gets teased all the time at school, until she finally meets the new girl. The two become fast friends until the other kids trick her into not being friends with Joyce. Joyce ends up spending most of her time at school with the janitor, Mrs. Fish, who ends up having to help Joyce and her Uncle run the dump when he becomes sick. Joyce's uncle and Mrs. Fish don't really get along at first, but she ends up moving in with the two.

Personal Reaction:
To me, everything about this story is strange. I do think it is a cute and entertaining book, but the story itself is strange. Many kids would be able to relate to this story because everyone has gone through a time where they feel like they don't belong. Joyce also has a problem with bullies, so kids that have been picked on would like to read this to see how to deal with it and to know they are now alone.

Classroom Extensions:
This story would be a good one for students to read when the teacher notices certain students picking on other ones. They can see what it feels like to be made fun of.
This story can also be used to talk about the different places that people come from, and that it is not okay to tease people for coming from different places.