Book Description

Secrets are difficult to keep! I thought things were going pretty good in Ms. Kelly's class until she dropped a bombshell. She tells me out of nowhere that I, Joseph Mateo, "was too shy". Is it true? Of course it is, but it never has been a problem before! Turns out, I need to do a show-and-tell thing and that's supposed to solve everything. Was I worried? You bet I was, but I decided to make everyone happy and just do it. I captured an ant, put him in a bottle, and called it my ant farm. That's when something weird happened. That teeny-weeny ant grew to be human-sized! I found it hiding in the classroom closet. Did I panic? You bet I did, but I took care of it. I put some clothes on him, called him Saygar, and made him the new kid in Ms. Kelly's class. It's not easy keeping something that big a secret. Saygar sure did make things hard for me when he spit purple gum into Ruby's hair and did that throw-up in Marcie's face fiasco. The show-and-tell thing was the end of my quiet life and the beginning of a whole mess of trouble! REVIEW: "A fantastic plot fusion between E. T. and Dr. Seuss's "What Was I Scared Of?", Saygar the Magnificent by Elizabeth Jurado will warp you right back to your days in elementary school even as a full-grown adult. An easy to read story surrounding a strange week in the life of a 3rd-grade boy that people of all backgrounds, classes, and genders can easily relate to, Jurado's book stays true to the extreme highs and lows of raw emotionality throughout childhood development in a fictional yet down-to-earth tale, reminding us that guardian angels come in all forms, shapes, and sizes." - Erick Kusmirek