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    How Oliver Olson Changed the World
    How Oliver Olson Changed the World
    How Oliver Olson Changed the World
    Audiobook1 hour

    How Oliver Olson Changed the World

    Written by Claudia Mills

    Narrated by Johnny Heller

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Talented children's author Claudia Mills pens this inspiring story about one boy's quest for independence. Oliver Olson's teacher wants her students to come up with one idea to change the world. Oliver doubts he'll think up anything great, since his overprotective parents never let him think for himself. But completing a science project-without his parents' help-makes him realize that he may have one great idea after all. "An engaging and thought-provoking chapter book."-Booklist
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 30, 2010
    ISBN9781449824631
    Author

    Claudia Mills

    Claudia Mills is the acclaimed author of many books for children including the Franklin School Friends children's book series, including Cody Harmon, King of Pets and Simon Ellis, Spelling Bee Champ. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

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    Reviews for How Oliver Olson Changed the World

    4/5

    58 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was a great, short read. Oliver's voice is realistic and relateable for young readers. Oliver is closed watched and protected by his parents but as the reader sees more and more of Oliver's thoughts there is a strong emerging character in him. A strong comparison to be made in this book is between Oliver and Pluto. Oliver latches on to Pluto and saving Him because he sees himself as Pluto. Oliver thinks he is weak, set apart, different, and not with everyone else in his grade. I like that Oliver's sickness as a child was acknowledged. Many kids get held back a year for different reasons and may feel similar to Oliver. This book gives them the feeling of not being alone and that they can do big, great things like Oliver even if they feel small in their world.
    • 4/5
      It is a sweet book, and took about 20 minutes to read! Kids will like it, since it is short. Oliver is a little guy with over protective parents. He just wants to work on homework all on his own and attend the class space project sleep-over. A little girl in his class, the one who always gets in trouble for talking too much, befriends him and their friendship helps Oliver gain the courage he needs.
    • 3/5
      I loved the constant theme in this book of parents needing to know when they're doing too much for their child. The book reminded me of my best friends parents when I was growing up. Her mom would call 3 times between the time she came over to my house and the time her mom was expecting her to go to bed just to see how everything was. I believe in a child growing independence even at an early age, but I also understand how life experiences (such as Oliver's getting extremely ill) could make a parent more cautious about their children's whereabouts and what they're doing. The book is about a boy named Oliver, who's class is spending 5 weeks learning about the solar system. Oliver is a quiet boy who started school late because he became really ill for months when he was 4, so his parents are super cautious. His class will be doing a "space" sleepover in his classroom at the end of their space unit but his mother is too worried to allow him to go. He ends up partnering up with a girl who is super chatty in his class to build a space diorama and protest pluto not being a planet with this diorama. It was hard for Oliver to break that news to his parents, because his dad and mom were already planning/doing all the work for him to make sure he got a perfect grade. The state Senator also comes to his school and his class writes letters to her explaining something that should be done to change the world. Oliver's partner for the project sends his actual idea in (he sent his mothers idea in) and the senator ends up picking it as the best idea, the only problem is his parents heard it and the idea was; "Schools should make it a rule that parents can not help/do their children's homework". Thankfully, Oliver's mom and father take it positively and at the end of the book Oliver's mom allows Oliver to attend the classroom sleepover.
    • 3/5
      More of a K-2 book than 3-5. Lots of solar system curriculum to work with as a class read aloud.
    • 5/5
      Ever since Oliver was sickly when he was little, his parents have been overprotective... they don't let him go on sleepovers and they want to do EVERYTHING for him, even his school projects. When the third grade class plans a space sleepover as the culminating event for their study of the solar system, Oliver thinks there is no way he'll be able to convince his parents to let him go. But take a chatty project partner, a planet that's no longer a planet, and a visiting senator, and he just might have the recipe for proving to his parents (and himself) that he has what it takes to change the world.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up because Claudia Mills is one of those people I associate with the Betsy-Tacy books. She gave a presentation at one of the BT conventions, even. This is a charming, sweet book about Oliver and his helicopter parents. It's also about Neil Armstrong and space and Pluto and third grade. It's funny in spots, poignant in spots and very nicely done.
    • 4/5
      Afraid he will always be an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, nine-year-old Oliver finally shows his extremely overprotective parents that he is capable of doing great things without their help while his class is studying the solar system.
    • 4/5
      Oliver Olson feels very confined in his life – a sickly young child, his parents are now hyper-involved in his schoolwork, and let him go very few places with friends. His third grade teacher introduces a unit on the planets, culminating in a special space sleepover, and as much as Oliver knows he wants to go, he knows his parents will not let him. But he begins work on his solar system diorama, with his parents doing most of the work, as always. This is a great story about allowing kids to have a say in things – Oliver eventually is able to speak his mind to his parents and get to go to the sleepover. He has a great friend named Crystal, who isn’t his first choice of friend, but is a great one nevertheless. Oliver wants to get involved in life, and he sure does. This is a good “next-step” book for third and fourth graders –at 104 pages, it is a good length to challenge them.
    • 3/5
      Nice beginning chapter book. Many children will be able to relate to the overprotective parents and Oliver's need to break free so he can begin exploring.
    • 4/5
      Oliver, a third grader, wants to do his own diaroma of the solar system. He also wants to go to the space sleepover that his class is having. But he knows his parents, who worry about him a lot because he was sick a lot when he was younger, won't agree.