September 10

Be a perfect person…or not

perfectWe just read Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days. In this story a boy named Milo accidentely finds a book in the libary…actually it falls off of a shelf and hits him on the head. The book says that it can teach him how to be “perfect” in exactly three days. Milo really wants to be perfect and since it’s really thin, he reads it! In three short days, Milo does some pretty strange things like wearing a stalk of broccoli on a string around his neck on his quest to be perfect.

At the end of the story he begins to wonder if perfection is all it cracked up to be. Dr. Silverfish even says, “Perfect is boring!” How has Milo’s feelings about perfection changed? How have your feelings about being perfect changed? 

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Posted September 10, 2014 by Mrs. McKelvey in category Books

About the Author

Hello my name is Karen McKelvey and I am a 3rd grade teacher at Curie Elementary School in San Diego, California. I began teaching at Curie Elementary in 2002. I feel fortunate to be part of such a great community. I love blogging with my students as it provides them with an authentic audience for their work. Collaborative group work and project-based learning are key components of my classroom. I completed my Masters degree in Educational Technology from San Diego State University in 2010. Many of the concepts/pedagogy and technologies I learned about in this program, like learning management systems, Google tools, and blogs are implemented in my classroom. Technology plays a key role in the learning that occurs in our classroom. We don’t learn about technology, we learn with technology. Students are engaged in activities that incorporate writing, research skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and much more on a daily basis.

30 thoughts on “Be a perfect person…or not

  1. Kei

    Dear Shaun,
    What kind of dog are you get?Do you like a dog I think you are.Last time I had a dog and it was so big so my dog eat a lots of food and something that was funny waS that my brother got on the dog and my brother got sliped and fall down on the carpet.
    p.s I am practicing how to write a comment.

    From:Curie Elementry School

    Reply
  2. swimgirl955

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey,
    Yes my thoughts have changed for being a perfect person because only God and Jesus can be perfect. They created us to make mistakes. If God made us perfect we would just be sitting around all day sipping weak tea doing nothing. That is why we aren’t just lifeless body’s Sitting around doing nothing all day. We were made to do things and learn from our mistakes.

    Reply
  3. ELLIOT

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey
    Q. How has Milo’s feelings about perfection changed?
    Milo in the beginning of the book felt when the book how to be perfect in three days hit him in the head that it would be awesome to be perfect and he really wanted to be perfect so that no people could yell at him like his mom or teacher.
    After he read the book he learned that perfect is boring because perfect people all they do is sit there drink weak tea and think about how perfect they are.
    Q.How have you’re feelings changed?
    My feelings has changed too like Milo I learned that perfect is boring because you sit there and you can’t even eat!

    Reply
  4. alex

    My feelings have been changed about no one can be perfect, so you can be perfect but you can’t eat or drink except sip weak tea and do nothing at all not even move! Also how do you survive only by sipping weak tea?

    Reply
  5. 13candy16

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey,

    Milo’s feelings have definitely changed about being perfect. Perfect is being boring and doing nothing so you won’t make any mistakes. So you can’t learn from the mistakes you’ve made. No ones perfect and if you think you are then you definitely aren’t. Being perfect is nothing but sipping weak tea. Perfect is never doing anything fun because you will make a mistake so by not doing anything you will never make a mistake.
    From, Dalia

    Reply
  6. dom

    I loved the book! It was a very good story but it didn’t turn out well for Milo because he didn’t turn perfect. He just turned into a better person. It was still a good book and there was some obsticoles along the way. Like he had to not eat for one day and not do anything for twenty four hours. it was really hard for him also humiliating, funny, preswasive, hard, challenging and he almost starved!
    From,
    Dom

    Reply
    1. Mrs. McKelvey (Post author)

      Hi Dom,
      I loved this book too! You said that things don’t turn out when for Milo. I think they did because he became a better person. Maybe he wasn’t perfect, but he was good. What’s the difference? Remember, Dr. Silverfish said it was better to be good than perfect. I wonder why?
      From,
      Mrs. Mckelvey

      Reply
  7. Tawnie

    In the beginning of the book Milo really wants to be perfect and will do anything to be perfect, he got humiliated at school. At the end of the book he learns that being perfect is boring and i now think that being perfect is to be yourself.
    From, Tawnie

    Reply
    1. Mrs. McKelvey (Post author)

      Tawnie,
      I totally agree with you and Dr. Silverfish that perfect is boring. Who wants to be boring? Not me. I think it’s much more important to be yourself. If being yourself means you make mistakes, who cares. Milo didn’t care at the end of the story when he made lots of important mistakes in the baseball game. He was just happy to be himself.
      From,
      Mrs. McKelvey

      Reply
  8. yohay

    Dear Mrs.Meckelvey,
    I think Milo changed his thoughts about perfect. Before he thought being perfect was being able to do everything perfectly with no mistakes. But you know, in the end he found out that being perfect is about boring, because, YOU DO NOT DO ANYTHING ALL DAY LONG!!! S in the end, he was happy about not being boring. My evidence is when Dr.Silverfish admitted that perfect is boring himself. My thoughts about perfect changed because at first I thought perfect was knowing EVERYTHING!!But perfect is boring so I do not and never will want to be perfect.

    Reply
  9. Maxwell

    Dear Mrs. McKelvey
    Yes, Milo has changed. In the beginning Milo wanted to be perfect. He followed Dr. Silverfish’s words precisely. In the end, Dr. silverfish said being perfect is boring so Milo just wanted to be his own self. He wasn’t very good at baseball but it didn’t matter to him anymore.

    I think being perfect is not possible. If you are perfect, you are doing nothing. If you don’t make any mistakes you can’t learn. If you don’t learn you can’t do stuff right. So if you are trying to be perfect you can’t!

    From,
    Max

    Reply
    1. Mrs. McKelvey (Post author)

      Max,
      I agree that it’s impossible to learn if you don’t try anything. You are bound to make mistakes too when you try something new or when you try something that’s not new. Imagine how boring a baseball game would be without errors…just like the author said in the book.
      From,
      Mrs. McKelvey

      Reply
  10. Sophia

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey,
    Be A Perfect Person In Three Days is a very good book. Milo changed his mind about being perfect because he realized being perfect meant he couldn’t do anything and that you should be happy about who you are… even if you make mistakes sometimes. At first I thought there were three ways to be perfect, 1. Be brave. 2. You have to stick to your goal. 3.You have to do nothing for a long time.
    Then I changed my thoughts because I then realized instead of doing nothing for a long time you always have to do nothing so you don’t make mistakes and that’s boring!
    From,
    Sophia

    Reply
  11. miranda

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey, i think how milo felt about perfection has changed because he thought being perfect was getting everything right and being better than everyone in everything, but Dr.Silverfish showed him that perfect is the new boring because you would just sit there drinking weak tea doing nothing. I think that milo was perfect the way he is because he is just being himself.In my opinion you imperfections make you perfect and perfection comes within personality and your imperfections that make you perfect.Perfection also come within attitude.Personality is a big part of your flaws,imperfections,and attitude.Just because you have some flaws doesn’t mean you are not perfect.Maybe you flaws are perfect because it makes you an individual

    Reply
  12. Sydnie

    Dear Mrs. Mckelvey,
    Milo’s feelings have changed because he just realized that there is no such thing
    as being perfect. He also feels better about himself because Doctor Silverfish left Milo a little message. Since we’ve read the book my feelings have not changed.

    From,
    Sydnie

    Reply
  13. Josh

    Yes, Milo has changed because in the beginning of the book he use to fight with his sister when she made mean comments about what he was doing, but in the end of the book he ignored his sister’s mean comments. He also stood up to the bully who kept picking on him.

    No, my feelings have not changed because before I read the book I thought nobody could be perfect because if you were perfect you wouldn’t be doing anything and if you weren’t doing anything you wouldn’t get anything right.

    By
    Josh

    Reply
  14. bananaslug6458

    Yes, Milo was changed he stood up to a bully and did not eat for a day. Milo gained willpower too he also stood up to his sister.
    He defiantly did not become perfect, but he now has a lot of courage.

    My feelings
    I now what it would be like if you were perfect, you would be not doing anything
    you would just be sitting there……I’m being honest!

    From, Cam

    Reply
  15. Ella

    In the begining, Milo tries his hardest to become perfect. In the end, Milo find that being perfect is boring so now Milo is him self.

    Reply
  16. Suzannah

    Dear Mrs. Mckelvey
    I think perfect is boring because all you are doing is sitting around looking at the wall, and drinking week tea. if you want to be perfect try being imperfect. I also think no people could be perfect because if people are perfect the world would be boring. I think no one should be perfect. Milo want to be perfect and surprise his family but when he finds out what perfect people really do… when he goes to sleep, he doesn’t notice he has gone to sleep. After Milo’s dream he finds out he has gone to sleep. then DR. Silverfish congratulates him for not being perfect.
    From,
    Suzy

    Reply
  17. Eduardo

    I think Milo’s feelings are upset because he did all of that work for nothing.Now i think that being perfect is boring because you don’t do nothing just drink weak tea. So I would stay good instead of being perfect.
    From,
    Eduardo

    Reply
  18. John

    Perfect is boring perfect and means not doing anything. Boring is easy but awesome takes work. Anyone can accomplish being awesome so don’t try and be perfect because being perfect would be very boring that is what I think what I think.

    Milo felt that he could be perfect but then he realized he couldn’t be perfect because perfect is doing nothing thing at all and time and never doing anything ever.
    From,
    John

    Reply
  19. vincent

    Hello Mrs. McKelvey,
    My thoughts about being perfect have changed. Being perfect is technically doing nothing. And doing nothing means you’d die. Breathing is doing something. At the end of the story because if someone wanted to be perfect they would die instantly because you have to do nothing and breathing is doing something.
    From,
    Vincent

    Reply
  20. Daniel

    Dear Mrs. McKelvey,
    My feeling about being perfect has changed because being perfect means that you can’t do anything. And not doing anything means that you can not eat or drink, except drink weak tea.
    From,
    Danial

    Reply
  21. Sophie

    Dear Mrs. Mckelvey,
    I think before Milo finished the book he thought he could acomplish being perfect.After he read the book his thoughts changed A LOT.He started doing as many imperfect thing as he wanted after he finished Dr. Silverfish’s book. He learned that perfect is not good it’s terrible.
    Before we finished “How to be Perfect in Just Three Days” I thought that there was such thing as being perfect.After we read the book I realized that there is no such thing as being perfect (besides sitting and doing nothing so you can’t make a mistake).Perfect is boring.
    How did YOU think Milo changed?
    From,
    Sophie

    Reply
  22. ava

    Hi Mrs.Mckelvey,

    Milo realized that if your perfect then you just sit around doing nothing. If you
    sit around doing nothing then life will be boring and eventually you will die
    because you cant eat.If you don’t make mistakes then you cant learn from any-
    thing.Also if you try to be perfect than your getting closer to becoming more imperfect. I think no one is perfect.

    From, Ava

    Reply
  23. Arianna

    Dear Mrs Mckelvey,
    Milo feelings about perfection changed. At the beginning Milo wanted to be perfect because he was all wase getting in trouble. He thout if he would be perfect he would not get in trouble. Mr silverfish told Milo first to w,are a stack of brocaly secant, not eat for one day, therd not to do everything for one day except sit, yous the bathroom, and drink weak tea. But he failed the third task, he fell asleap. He opand the book and read congradgelashens said the book youare not perfect Milo was sad than the book said being perfect is doing nothing.
    From, Arianna

    Reply
  24. Alexia

    Dear Mrs. McKelvey,
    Milo changed his mind for being perfect because all it was was sitting around and drinking weak tea. Milo decides he’s just got to be himself.

    I think perfect is boring. You don’t do anything. It’s better to just be yourself even if you’re not perfect.
    From,
    Alexia

    Reply
  25. mia

    Dear Mrs.Mckelvey,
    When Milo looks for a book a book falls on his head and the book is about being perfect in just three days. So he rented it so he could be perfect and be perfect at every thing like: pitching perfectly, being a perfect student, and other cool stuff.

    From,
    Mia

    Reply

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