Skip to main content

The Loser List

The Loser List
by H. N. Kowittt
Scholastic Press, 2011. 213 pages. Fiction.

"Give me that pen. Or I'll put your name on the loser list!" threatens Chantal. Why should Danny Shrine ("I'm no geek. I have a wide range of interests: reading comics, drawing comics, buying comics, and trading comics.") care if Chantal, self-appointed boss of the 7th grade, puts his name on the Loser List? He doesn't even know what the Loser List is. However, a mere two hours later, girls he doesn't even know are greeting him with, "Hi, loser." Then he accidentally starts a food fight in the junior high cafeteria, which gets blamed on Axl, the schools biggest and meanest bully. Things go from bad to worse in this funny account narrated and illustrated by Danny himself. He eventually figures out that true friendship is more important than being cool, and that standing up to bullies doesn't always mean death...of course, this is after he has betrayed his best friend, turned into a juvenile delinquent, been kicked out of his favorite comic book store, and humiliated himself in front of the whole school.

This book is a funny read for anyone, especially reluctant readers and kids who liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Review: We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!

We’re All Gonna Die-nosaur! By Kon Tan  New York: Disney Hyperion, 2025. Intermediate. 157 pages.  Pterry (the “p” is silent) pterodactyl is a worry wart. Pterry is worried about flying (he doesn’t how to fly yet), dinosaurs going extinct (he had a scary dream), and how to protect his family (he has a little brother who hasn’t fully hatched from an egg yet). Even though there is a lot of feels for Pterry, this is actually quite a funny book. Pterry tries to learn how to fly with kites as his “training wheels” and his brother who is inside an egg is quite the adventurer.  This is a funny, heart-felt comic-like intermediate fiction book that will be great for many readers. If kids love dinosaurs, this book is for them. If kids like funny graphic novels, this book is for them. If kids want to read something about facing fears and doing things even though they don’t always want to, this book is for them. Plus, even though Pterry does a lot of things on his own, he still has s...