Extra Credit

Clements shows how Abby and Sadeed’s curious and inclusive mindsets help them learn more about each other and establish a caring friendship in spite of their many differences. In celebrating open-mindedness, the book shows these differences as opportunities for excitement and variety rather than obstacles to be overcome. It is important to the message of Extra Credit that the protagonists respect and welcome one another’s differences without seeking to diminish the gap between their experiences through reinterpretation or assumption. This open-mindedness is partly framed in the book as youthful innocence and is juxtaposed against the realities of the wider adult word which will ultimately stop their correspondence.

At the beginning of the book, Clements establishes that Abby and Sadeed are incredibly different people. They have different genders, family roles, skills, hobbies, and cultural backgrounds. While Sadeed is proud to be the “finest student” in his village, Abby has “never been a very good student” (14). Yet because they both keep an open and curious mind about each other, they can overcome stereotyping and suspicion to discover their similarities between themselves, and even influence each other.

In her opening letter, Abby is curious about Sadeed and Amira’s lives and openly suggests that her pen pals respond with lots of information.