The Wednesday Wars, by Gary Schmidt

It is 1967, and Holling Hoodhood knows his 7th grade year at Camillo Jr. High School will be terrible. His teacher, Mrs. Baker, already hates him on the first day!To make things worse, it turns out that on Wednesday afternoon, when the Catholic and Jewish children in his class have religious instruction, Holling is stuck with Mrs. Baker all alone. At first he is given chores to do, but then Mrs. Baker has the brilliant idea that Holling should read Shakespeare! What could be worse?
This book could be very funny: two runaway rats, cream puffs, and a 12 year old boy wearing tights in a community play add humorous moments. It could also be sad: the Vietnam War touches the lives of the Holling's world, along with a runaway hippie sister. I loved this book because of the wonderful example of Mrs. Baker, who showed me that teachers could be strict and loving and go "above and beyond" their classroom requirements, and of course, as a Shakespeare lover, I was happy to see that Shakespeare could speak to a 12 year old boy in 1967.