Jerry Flack, a nice but rather dorky sixth-grade boy, decides to run for class president against a handsome, popular classmate. And it’s not easy. Besides having all the conventional middle-grade weapons—looks, athletic ability, and popularity—antagonist Gabe Marshall has no problem fighting dirty, embarrassing his competitor, then showing everyone humiliating pictures of his mortification. As Gorman’s nerdy everyman hero begins to fight back and his rivalry with Gabe escalates, Jerry has to decide what kind of battle he wants to wage and what ethical and personal principles he’s willing to sacrifice to win. More inherently dramatic but not as credible or emotionally astute as Dork in Disguise (1999), this action-packed sequel wants to have it both ways—to have Jerry win the battle by showing off his dorky credentials and smarts, while at the same time making these well-known liabilities seem cool and classy. It’s a great fantasy, though as any kid will testify, not enormously realistic, and because it’s not as fresh, funny, or psychologically convincing as its predecessor, Gorman is unable to make the reader believe it. A by-the-numbers subplot about Jerry’s little sister going through a somewhat different but still comparable experience with an older bully adds story bulk but lacks emotional heft. Nevertheless, an enjoyable, often amusing read with a resourceful protagonist that has something to say about both being true to and standing up for one’s self. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-029409-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
Donavan's friends collect buttons and marbles, but he collects words. ``NUTRITION,'' ``BALLYHOO,'' ``ABRACADABRA''—these and other words are safely stored on slips of paper in a jar. As it fills, Donavan sees a storage problem developing and, after soliciting advice from his teacher and family, solves it himself: Visiting his grandma at a senior citizens' apartment house, he settles a tenants' argument by pulling the word ``COMPROMISE'' from his jar and, feeling ``as if the sun had come out inside him,'' discovers the satisfaction of giving his words away. Appealingly detailed b&w illustrations depict Donavan and his grandma as African-Americans. This Baltimore librarian's first book is sure to whet readers' appetites for words, and may even start them on their own savory collections. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: June 30, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-020190-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
In 1948 the unorthodox Miss Agnes arrives to teach the children of an Athabascan Indian Village in remote Alaska. Ten-year-old Fred (Fredrika) matter-of-factly narrates this story of how a teacher transformed the school. Miss Agnes’s one-room schoolhouse is a progressive classroom, where the old textbooks are stored away first thing upon her arrival. The children learn to read using handmade books that are about their own village and lives: winter trapping camps, tanning moose hides, fishing, and curing the catch, etc. Math is a lesson on how not to get cheated when selling animal pelts. These young geographers learn about the world on a huge map that covers one whole schoolhouse wall. Fred is pitch-perfect in her observations of the village residents. “Little Pete made a picture of his dad’s trapline cabin . . . He was proud of that picture, I could tell, because he kept making fun of it.” Hill (Winter Camp, 1993, etc.) creates a community of realistically unique adults and children that is rich in the detail of their daily lives. Big Pete is as small and scrappy, as his son Little Pete is huge, gentle, and kind. Fred’s 12-year-old deaf sister, Bokko, has her father’s smile and has never gone to school until Miss Agnes. Charlie-Boy is so physically adept at age 6 that he is the best runner, thrower, and catcher of all the children. These are just a few of the residents in this rural community. The school year is not without tension. Will Bokko continue in school? Will Mama stay angry with Miss Agnes? And most important, who will be their teacher after Miss Agnes leaves? A quiet, yet satisfying account. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82933-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
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