What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

Copyright: 2001

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

About the Novel:

Sophie is a freshman in high school; she's fourteen. She's known by her friends as Sophie Dophie, Soso, and Fee. But her first love Dylan calls her Sapphire, and she melts at the sound of it...and then her second love calls her......Marie-Clementine?? Join Sophie on her exciting and emotional journey as she searches for Mr. Right. Will her knight in shining armour be the mysterious and alluring boy she spends hours with chatting on the internet? Or will he be the masked man that swoops in at the Halloween dance and sweeps her off of her feet? Or maybe he will be the misunderstood shy-guy that she just can't seem to keep her eyes off of in art class. Find out when you read What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones.

What is this book like?

• Realistic Fiction
• Poetry collection
• Oriented towards girls
• Relatable

Online Resources to Support Text:

Free Verse Lesson Plan
Children can practice writing their own free verse poems in the same or similiar style as Sophie's.

Sonya Sones' Offical Web Site
Site includes book list, writing tips, web site links for teen writers, and contact information!

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Before Reading: Children may be unfamiliar with the format of this novel as a free verse poetry collection and may need help understanding how to read it. The first poems should be read as a read-aloud, practicing pausing at the end of the lines, at punctuation, and re-reading when necessary. It may be helpful to discuss why the author decided to write this book as a collection of poems and how it adds to the reading experience.

2. During Reading: Encourage children to make predictions while they are reading. Have them choose topics of their own or give them a list to choose from if they can't think of any on their own. Examples may include the following:
-Who do you think the masked man is?
-Do you think Dylan is the right guy for Sophie?
-How do you think Grace and Rachel will react when they find out who Sophie's new boyfriend is?

Afterwards the students can discuss how they came up with their predictions and discuss if they were right or wrong.

3. After Reading: Students will create their own free verse poems after learning about the style through a mini lesson (see link).