2007 ALA Notable Book

If you follow Washington Boulevard past the smoky good smells of Willy Q's Barbecue, past the Style R Us hair salon where they do nails like nobody's business, past the eye-popping red doors of the Sanctuary Baptist Church, you'll finally come to a dead end. That's where our school sits. Right at the dead end of Washington Boulevard. We know there's a lot of people out there who think our school is a dead end. And that all the kids inside it are dead ends too. But they've got it all wrong. Just you wait and see...

Inspired by actual events, All of the Above is the delightful and suspenseful story of four inner city students and their quest to set a math record by building the world's largest tetrahedron.

Lively and fast-paced, the novel weaves together the stories of the kids, their teacher, and the community that surrounds them.

Interspersed throughout the text are illustrations by award-winning artist Javaka Steptoe--as well as barbecue recipes--and even a few math problems. Readers of all ages are sure to enjoy this inspiring story of "math, life, and good-tasting barbecue!"

Read an interview with Shelley Pearsall about All of the Above.

Free teacher's guide available for download here. (PDF download)

Readers!
Download tetrahedron
shape here
Honors
  • 2007 ALA Notable Book
  • 2007 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers selection
  • 2006 VOYA Top 5, Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers
  • New York Public Library Top 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
  • 2007 Texas Blue Bonnet Master List
  • 2007 Association of Library Services for Children (ALSC) "Recommended for Holiday Gift-Giving"
  • 2008 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Nominee (Vermont)
  • 2007-2008 North Carolina Children's Book Award nominee
  • 2008-09 Missouri Truman Readers Award List nominee
Reviews

"Math teachers will love this book for the geometry-equals-life lessons."
- Judy Freeman in "Books kids will sit still for,"
  Curriculum Connections, School Library Journal,
  Fall 2006
"Pearsall has a knack for creating strong narratives and characters that eschew predictability."
- School Library Journal
"The authentic voices of the students and the well-intentioned, supportive adults surrounding them illustrate all that is good about schools, family, friendship and community."
- Booklist
"In the end, it's hard to leave Washington Boulevard. That's because Pearsall has taken us deep-diving into the hearts of characters who we end up loving as much as our friends and neighbors, their hopes and dreams mixing with our own." "All of the Above demonstrates the meaning of a big dream in the lives of a school and neighborhood too used to having their dreams shattered."
- KidsReads.com
"Smart and fast-paced, this story inspires as well as entertains."
- Kirkus Reviews
"You'll love these four characters who live in the same neighborhood and go to the same school, but whose lives are so different. You'll laugh with them, cry for them, and root for them as they try to solve their own problems and build the largest tetrahedron in the world. A wonderful book!"
- Patricia Reilly Giff, author of Newbery Honor Book Pictures of Hollis Woods
"The students in this novel are so real and authentic that I can't help rooting for them to beat the odds. Pearsall's inclusion of BBQ recipes makes this story extra tasty."
- Laban Carrick Hill, author of Harlem Stomp!, a National Book Award finalist
All Of The Above
ISBN: 0-316-11524-X trade hardcover
240 pages, illustrations
Ages: 8-12
Published September 2006 by Little, Brown & Co.
Setting: Urban school
Here's how to order All Of The Above