History Literature / NothingsFairInFifthGrade

* OnlyChildSyndrome: Invoked but subverted in the introductory chapter in ''Fifth Grade''; when Jenny describes Diane and Sharon, she notes that even though Sharon has siblings and Diane doesn't, you would think Sharon was the one who's an only child due to how self-centered she is.

* OnlyChildSyndrome: Invoked but subverted; when Jenny describes Diane and Sharon, she notes that even though Sharon has siblings and Diane doesn't, you would think Sharon was the one who's an only child due to how self-centered she is.

** However, after Jenny's conversation with Elsie in the girls' room, all enmity seems to melt away, especially once she realizes what Elsie has to deal with at home. Jenny's friends Diane (another victim of Elsie's thefts) and Sharon take a little longer to come around, but they eventually do.

It's a story set in an elementary school, involving a student, Jenny, who is initially repulsed by a new transfer: morbidly obese classmate Elsie Edwards. At first, Jenny can't stand Elsie any more than the other kids, especially after Elsie is caught stealing her classmates' lunch money from their desks so she can buy food. However, one day, she runs into Elsie crying in the girl's bathroom. Inconsolable, Elsie spills out her life story to Jenny, along with the details on her cold, unloving mother. Jenny, beginning to see her as human for the first time, vows to stick up for her - and she does. Despite resistance from other kids, she eventually brings her friends over to her side.

* PeerPressureMakesYouEvil: Or stupid, as in the hitchhiking instance. Or good, as in being nicer to Elsie. Or for that matter, evil, as in mocking Elsie because others are doing it.

---> '''Jimmy:''' ''[after Sharon mentions her mother says Helen wouldn't be such a disciplinary problem if she'd been enrolled in Special Ed sooner]'' So what? You know what ''my'' mother said? She said ''your'' mom's a bigmouth, and so are you.

* ParentalNeglect: When Elsie's mother isn't being [[AbusiveParent abusive to her]], this is her default state. When Elsie begins to lose weight and her old clothes don't fit well anymore, her mother can't be bothered to buy her new clothes, and Diane's mother takes it upon herself to alter Elsie's clothes so they fit better. This results in a shouting match between Elsie's and Diane's mothers over the phone, in which Diane's mother outright accuses Elsie's mother of neglect. The next day at school, Elsie's wearing brand-new clothes which fit perfectly, and Elsie's mother even eventually ''makes'' her new clothes.

** Diane can be forceful and bossy, a trait she apparently learned from her own mother. Jenny notes the similarity after Diane's mother takes Elsie's mother to task for the way she treats Elsie (in this case, specifically for making Elsie continue to wear her now too-big clothes after she loses weight).

** Diane can be forceful and bossy, a trait she apparently learned from her own mother.
** Also applies with Elsie, as she mentions that both she and her mother gained weight after Elsie's parents' divorce due to stress eating. The difference was that her mother gained control of her eating while Elsie's spiraled out of control.

* SternTeacher: Mrs. Hanson is no-nonsense and doesn't tolerate monkey business, but she is also caring and supportive (she punishes the class for laughing at Elsie's WardrobeMalfunction by assigning a massive 42-problem arithmetic assignment -- harsh, but she's ultimately sticking up for a student being picked on by her classmates). This is also true of Miss Jewell in ''The Fourth Grade Wizards.'' Compare this to other examples of this trope in the sequels - such as Miss Bickford in ''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'' or Mrs. Lobb in ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' - who are strict but neither caring nor supportive.

** In the sequels and prequels, Sharon is The Unfavorite in her class, largely due to her being a big-mouthed gossip, a teacher's pet, and a tattletale. In ''The Fourth Grade Wizard'', Miss Jewell assigns Jack to do something nice for Sharon to make up for shooting spitballs at her, and he ends up baking her cupcakes, but to make clear what he thinks of Sharon, he makes sure the cupcake he gives Sharon is messy and looks unappetizing, while he brings more cupcakes for his friends that look "normal."

--> [Marianne] is little and friendly and will lend you anything.

* FatGirl: Elsie.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sharon may be gossipy, spoiled and selfish, but she is Jenny's friend (although Diane only puts up with her because Jenny's and Sharon's mothers are friends) and eventually warms up to Elsie as well, to the point of giving her useful advice to improve her school performance so she won't be sent to boarding school. The other books in the series, however, portray her more or less one-dimensionally as a big-mouthed gossip. She's even downright nasty in the prequel ''The Fourth Grade Wizards''.

* LikeMotherLikeDaughter: Sharon Hinkler is a big-mouthed gossip, and it's implied this is because her mother is one as well. Sharon spends most of her time parroting what her mother says. Jenny still genuinely likes her as a friend, but admits she gets tired of Sharon's constant gossiping. Diane, the most popular girl in class, only tolerates Sharon because their parents are friends.

** In ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', when she learns that taxpayer money will have to be used to fix the graffiti she spray-painted on the school, she feels bad about acting out for the first time. She then ''earns the money herself'' to pay for paint to cover up the graffiti.

* TitleDrop: The title of ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' comes from Helen's Uncle Leo telling her that when he'd done something wrong as a boy and was afraid of being punished by his mother, he'd work up his courage by telling himself, "She can only kill me." Helen takes this advice to heart, and it gives her the courage to stick with school instead of dropping out she wants to.

* BookDumb: In ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', actually averted with Helen. She gets failing grades in Reading, Spelling and Social Studies, but it's because she has a learning disability, not because of laziness (her failing grades are despite her working on those subjects until ''ten o'clock'' at night). And like Elsie, she's a whiz in Math.

* SternTeacher: Mrs. Hanson is no-nonsense and doesn't tolerate monkey business, but she is also caring and supportive (she punishes the class for laughing at Elsie's WardrobeMalfunction by assigning a massive 42-problem arithmetic assignment -- harsh, but what she's really telling them is that she won't tolerate them being mean to their classmate, and she also goes to bat for Elsie later on). This is also true of Miss Jewell in ''The Fourth Grade Wizards.'' Compare this to other examples of this trope in the sequels - such as Miss Bickford in ''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'' or Mrs. Lobb in ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' - who are strict but neither caring nor supportive.

* SternTeacher: Mrs. Hanson is no-nonsense and doesn't tolerate monkey business, but she is also caring and supportive (she punishes the class for laughing at Elsie's WardrobeMalfunction by assigning a massive 42-problem arithmetic assignment -- harsh, but she's ultimately acting on behalf of a student who was mocked in a vulnerable moment). This is also true of Miss Jewell in ''The Fourth Grade Wizards.'' Compare this to other examples of this trope in the sequels - such as Miss Bickford in ''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'' or Mrs. Lobb in ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' - who are strict but neither caring nor supportive.

* SternTeacher: Mrs. Hanson is no-nonsense and doesn't tolerate monkey business (she punishes the class for laughing at Elsie's WardrobeMalfunction by assigning a massive 42-problem arithmetic assignment), but she is also caring and supportive. This is also true of Miss Jewell in ''The Fourth Grade Wizards.'' Compare this to other examples of this trope in the sequels - such as Miss Bickford in ''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'' or Mrs. Lobb in ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' - who are strict but neither caring nor supportive.

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: Diane's father is dead, and she lives alone with her mother. So is Marianne's mother (although this plot point is not mentioned until ''The Fourth Grade Wizards''). Elsie's parents are divorced and her father seems to want nothing to do with her, apparently because of her appearance. In the sequels, Elsie's relationship with her father does improve, but she still harbors some resentment over his abandoning her.

----

* YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb: The hitchhiking scene, and the subsequent greater trouble to which it leads, would not have occurred if the kids weren't acting so dumb and impulsive then. The seven-year-old going back to the truck to retrieve her purse is the icing on the cake.

It's a story set in an elementary school, involving a student, Jenny, who is initially repulsed by a new transfer: morbidly obese classmate Elsie Edwards. At first, Jenny can't stand Elsie any more than the other kids, especially after Elsie is caught stealing her classmates' lunch money from their desks so she can buy food. However, one day, she runs into Elsie crying in the girl's bathroom. Inconsolable, Elsie spills out her life story to Jenny, along with the details on her cold, unloving mother. Jenny, beginning to see her as human for the first time, vows to stick up for her-- which she does. Despite resistance from other kids, she eventually brings over one-- and then two-- of her friends to her side.

Over time, Jenny tries to deal with her own personal problems (having a hard time with math, her parents' occasional arguments), as well as help Elsie with her own. Unfortunately, Jenny's attempts to right things sometimes cause more trouble-- or trouble just arises through other means-- but things gradually get better over time.

The book has believable characterizations, very accurate dialog, and portrays the kids' home and school lives very realistically. This makes it an excellent aversion of the most common mistakes children's book authors make, considering that most of them have never been really good at portraying kids or their lives ''this'' realistically, especially while still being fun to read.

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Kenny for Jenny, and Robyn for Elsie.

* TheCutie: Marianne, who's cheerful, somewhat childish, and nice to everyone, even Elsie when the class hates her. She's later the main character of the prequel ''The Fourth Grade Wizards'' in which we learn that she has her own family issue she's trying to overcome: [[spoiler:Her mother [[MissingMom was killed]] in a plane crash]].

* EasilyForgiven: Although Marianne was the first person to have her lunch money stolen by Elsie, she is also the first to forgive her once Elsie begins tutoring her in math. When Jenny rebuffs the idea of Elsie tutoring ''her'' because she "doesn't want a thief helping her," Marianne even scolds her, "Jenny, you ''could'' forget about that."

* HiddenDepths: Elsie turns out to be quite the talented singer. Jenny is stunned when Elsie is over at her house one day and breaks into the [[Music/TheRollingStones Rolling Stones]] classic "As Tears Go By," and afterward marvels at how professional Elsie sounds.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sharon may be gossipy, spoiled and selfish, but she is Jenny's friend (although Diane only puts up with her because Jenny's and Sharon's mothers are friends) and eventually warms up to Elsie as well, to the point of giving her useful advice to improve her school performance so she won't be sent to boarding school. The other books in the series, however, portray her more or less one-dimensionally as a big-mouthed gossip. She's even downright nasty in the prequel ''The Fourth Grade Wizards''.

* MeaningfulName: Jenny names her kitten D.D. after the kitten's troubles with becoming housebroken, because kids who get D's in school are slow to catch on.
* MostWritersAreAdults: ''Excellently'' averted. The dialog, characterizations, and concerns of the children are actually very realistic. The fact that the author is both a former teacher and former school psychologist might have [[strike:something]] a lot to do with that.

* SternTeacher: Mrs. Hanson is no-nonsense and doesn't tolerate monkey business (she punishes the class for laughing at Elsie's WardrobeMalfunction by assigning a massive 42-problem arithmetic assignment), but she is also caring and supportive. Likewise Miss Jewell in ''The Fourth Grade Wizards.'' Compare this to other examples of this trope in the sequels - such as Miss Bickford in ''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'' or Mrs. Lobb in ''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'' - who are strict but neither caring nor supportive.
* TheSeventies / TheEighties: Although the book was published in 1981, a few of the cultural references seem to suggest that it takes place circa 1979 - for example, Jenny and her friends hang out listening to ''Music/TheBeeGees'', who were no longer consistent hitmakers by 1981. The sequels are also [[TheEighties similarly dated]] by the mentioning of popular musical acts of the era, such as Music/TheGoGos (''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'', 1983) and Music/VanHalen (''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', 1985).

** While Jenny admits there are times when she feels like The Unfavorite in her family, she has to admit that, compared to Elsie's, her home life isn't so bad.

* WardrobeMalfunction: Elsie's skirt falls down as she stands up to get her report card, the reason being that Elsie is losing weight so her clothes are now too big for her. This scene is the catalyst for Jenny's conversation with a tearful Elsie in the girls' room.

* YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb: The hitchhiking scene, and the subsequent greater trouble it led to, would not have occurred if the kids weren't acting so dumb and impulsive then. The seven-year-old going back to the truck to retrieve her purse is the icing on the cake.
----

* TheSeventies / TheEighties: Although the book was published in 1981, a few of the cultural references seem to suggest that it takes place circa 1979 - for example, Jenny and her friends hang out listening to ''Music/TheBeeGees'', who were no longer consistent hitmakers by 1981. The sequels are also [[TheEighties similarly dated]] by the mentioning of popular musical acts of the era, such as ''Music/TheGoGos'' (''How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?'', 1983) and ''Music/VanHalen'' (''Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You'', 1985).

** While Jenny admits there are times when she feels like The Unfavorite in her family, seeing what Elsie has to deal with makes Jenny realize how good she has it.

* YouJustHadToSayIt: Invoked with Sharon after Elsie accidentally slugs Jack in the mouth with a baseball bat and Sharon tells him, "Remember, Red, be a sport," knowing that Jack hates to be called "Red." Jenny jumps on Sharon for this, fearing that Jack will tattle on Elsie, thus ensuring that Elsie will be sent to boarding school. [[spoiler:He doesn't, and Elsie avoids boarding school.]]

* {{Maid}}: In Elsie's mother's eyes, this is all her daughter is good for.

* ParentalNeglect: When Elsie's mother isn't being [[AbusiveParent abusive to her]], this is her default state. When Elsie begins to lose weight and her old clothes don't fit well anymore, her mother can't be bothered to buy her new clothes, and Diane's mother takes it upon herself to alter Elsie's clothes so they fit better. This results in a shouting match between Elsie's and Diane's mothers over the phone, in which Diane's mother outright accuses Elsie's mother of neglect. The next day at school, Elsie's wearing brand-new clothes which fit perfectly.

* SoreLoser: Sharon Hinkler, whose reaction to losing a game is to rant and rave and blame somebody else.

** It's implied that Sharon is one as well.

* YouJustHadToSayIt: Invoked with Sharon after Elsie accidentally slugs Jack in the mouth with a baseball bat and Sharon tells him, "Remember, Red, be a sport," knowing that Jack hates to be called "Red." Jenny jumps on Sharon for this, fearing that Jack will tattle on Elsie, thus ensuring that Elsie will be sent to boarding school.

* GossipyHens: Sharon Hinkler is an example, especially in the sequels and prequel where she frequently also veers into {{Jerkass}} territory.