Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat

Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat
By Gary Paulsen
Simon and Schuster, 2016. Fiction. 138 p.
Some of Gary Paulsen's books are serious, even heart rending and others are just funny. This story fits into the second category. Six eighth-grade boys are stuck in a bathroom after school because of a storm warning. The boys fit very different stereotypes, one shy, one an over achiever, one a rocker, etc. Close proximity makes the boys interact in ways they probably would have never happened under normal circumstances, with hilarious results. As always, Paulsen laces his humor with insightful commentary on human nature. The story is actually only 76 pages, but then it is reprinted at the end of the book as a one act play. Paulsen, rather cleverly, gives each of the characters a gender neutral name, so the one act play could be performed by either six girls or six boys. This book is available from the library in print and as an audio CD.

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