Codell, Esme Raji. 2003. Sahara special. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Readers meet Sahara as she sits in the hall with the special needs teacher for her school. When Sahara’s dad left when she was in the third grade, Sahara began writing letters to him instead of completing school work. The letters found their way into her permanent record, and Sahara found her way into Special Education. With no noticeable improvement, Sahara’s mother refuses special education for her daughter and Sahara has to repeat fifth grade—a turning point in both her academic career and her life. When Sahara begins her second year in fifth grade, she has no idea that the new teacher, Madame Poitier (Miss Pointy) will force her to confront her past, her future and her present. Miss Pointy’s disregard for conventional bureaucracy and classroom behavior shakes her students out of their comfort zones and impacts their school life and their lives outside of the schoolroom. With humor, warmth, and wisdom, Codell confronts the world of a troubled fifth grader and presents a story that readers will find themselves unable to resist.