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Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class #2)

Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class #2)

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Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class #2)

Author(s)

Rajani LaRocca

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Kat Fajardo

Publisher

Algonquin Young Readers

Genre(s)

Realistic Fiction

Age Range

Release Date

April 30, 2024

ISBN

978-1523526581

Buy This Book

Rohan Murthy dreams of running a successful business like his creative and kind mom. When Mrs. Z announces that Curiosity Academy needs to raise money for a school garden, Rohan sees the chance to launch his dreams right away! He'll start a pet care company to help the people of Peppermint Falls look after their dogs, hamsters, fish, snakes, lizards . . . anything but cats. With hard work, some glittery posters, and the help of his friends from Mrs. Z's class, Rohan knows he can do a lot for the school garden.

His parents point out just one small problem: Rohan has never taken care of an animal before. They think he doesn't even like touching animals. (There is a reason cats aren't on his list.) To prove his parents wrong, Rohan volunteers to spend a weekend watching over Honey, the class guinea pig. But Honey appears surprisingly anxious, which makes Rohan nervous as well. When his big dreams meet his secret fears, what will Rohan do?

Editor review

1 review

Balancing community service with self care

March 06, 2024

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Mrs. Z. has some good news; the children at Curiosity Academy are going to be able to have a school garden. In order to get supplies, however, they will need to be able to raise some money. Rohan's mother, who is an artist, stops by to give the class some pointers on how to set up their own businesses. Wanting to be an entrepreneur, and to raise money for the garden, Rohan decides that he will start a dog walking business, since it fills a need in his community. His parents, however, are skeptical, since he has never had to take care of a pet. Before they okay the idea, they want him to gain some experience. He is able to take home Honey, the class guinea pig, for the weekend. He is less successful when trying to befriend his music teacher's cat, who once scratched him. Things don't go as smoothy with Honey as he had hoped. With the help of his friends in Mrs. Z's class, he realizes that he has much stronger drawing skills than pet care ones, and decides to work with a classmate who is baking animal cookies. He will draw sketches of peoples pets, and leave the dog walking to people with more experience.

Good Points

LaRocca has several books for older middle grade readers that include facets of this story; business skills in Midsummer's Mayhem and Indian cultural connections in Red, White, and Whole, and has recently moved into books for younger readers, like the recent The Secret of the Dragon Gems with Chris Baron, so it's good to see her take her turn with the new series. Rohan's enthusiasm for helping is tempered with his fear over pets, and he is able to navigate these complicated feelings with the support of parents and classmates. Gaining independence is a major accomplishment in third grade, and LaRocca does an excellent job of showing this process with nuance and understanding.

Fajardo's illustrations are always fun to see, but this particular book had a lot of very cute pets, which will be an added attraction for young readers.

Pet walking is a job that many young children can handle, and Rohan's attempts at setting his business up would put him in good company with Faruqi Must Love Pets series and Fairbairn and Assarasakorn's Paws books. Early chapter book readers who liked Ahn's Pug Pals or Winston's Wednesday and Woof mysteries will also be interested to see another installment of adventures from Curiosity Academy. LaRocca has several books for older middle grade readers that include facets of this story; business skills in Midsummer's Mayhem and Indian cultural connections in Red, White, and Whole, and has recently moved into books for younger readers, like the recent The Secret of the Dragon Gems with Chris Baron, so it's good to see her take her turn with the new series. Rohan's enthusiasm for helping is tempered with his fear over pets, and he is able to navigate these complicated feelings with the support of parents and classmates. Gaining independence is a major accomplishment in third grade, and LaRocca does an excellent job of showing this process with nuance and understanding.

Fajardo's illustrations are always fun to see, but this particular book had a lot of very cute pets, which will be an added attraction for young readers.

Pet walking is a job that many young children can handle, and Rohan's attempts at setting his business up would put him in good company with Faruqi Must Love Pets series and Fairbairn and Assarasakorn's Paws books. Early chapter book readers who liked Ahn's Pug Pals or Winston's Wednesday and Woof mysteries will also be interested to see another installment of adventures from Curiosity Academy.