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Overview
Leon's back. Having survived the sweatshop methods of Miss Hagmeyer, his needle-wielding fourth grade teacher at the Classical School, Leon braces himself for fifth grade. He arrives armed with a backpack full of pens and pencils, binders and notebooks . . . plus a rag doll that's the spitting image of Henry Lumpkin, the bully who has Leon in his sights. If the doll works the way it's supposed to, Leon (and his buddies P.W. and Lily-Matisse) won't have to worry about Lumpkin the Pumpkin!
Better still, Leon has a fabulous new teacher, Mr. Sparks, who conducts science experiments using that most miraculous of research materials -- the potato chip. And a good thing, too. Mr. Sparks's lab work will come in handy when Leon is forced to take on Alphonse "The Chippopotamus" Cipollini at the annual Chipapalooza! Chip-Off.
Once you've sunk your teeth into Leon and the Champion Chip, the hilarious sequel to Leon and the Spitting Image, you'll never eat potato chips the same way again!
Synopsis
Leon's back. Having survived the sweatshop methods of Miss Hagmeyer, his needle-wielding fourth grade teacher at the Classical School, Leon braces himself for fifth grade. He arrives armed with a backpack full of pens and pencils, binders and notebooks . . . plus a rag doll that's the spitting image of Henry Lumpkin, the bully who has Leon in his sights. If the doll works the way it's supposed to, Leon (and his buddies P.W. and Lily-Matisse) won't have to worry about Lumpkin the Pumpkin! Better still, Leon has a fabulous new teacher, Mr. Sparks, who conducts science experiments using that most miraculous of research materials -- the potato chip. And a good thing, too. Mr. Sparks's lab work will come in handy when Leon is forced to take on Alphonse "The Chippopotamus" Cipollini at the annual Chipapalooza! Chip-Off. Once you've sunk your teeth into Leon and the Champion Chip, the hilarious sequel to Leon and the Spitting Image, you'll never eat potato chips the same way again!Editorials
Publishers Weekly
The star of Leon and the Spitting Image returns for Leon and the Champion Chip by Allen Kurzweil, illus. by Bret Bertholf. Coming off of a summer that rated "an 8," Leon starts fifth-grade with the perfect invention to pay back bully Henry Lumpkin Jr.-except that it backfires and the hero winds up in a trash can. Will his year improve? Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Can you imagine how cool it would be to study potato chips all year in science if you are a fifth grader? Leon and his two best friends find out that Mr. Sparks is a far-out teacher. Mr. Sparks believes in being creative to capture the attention of his students and, thereby, help them to learn while enjoying it. Talk about creative and cool. Back to School is upon us as the story begins. Leon is preparing his knapsack with his new school supplies and a secret "purple" pouch for the first day of the fifth grade. Tension runs high the night before school begins; there are a lot of things kids worry about. One of them is how to deal with the school bully and live to tell about it. Leon, Lily-Matisse and P.W.— three best friends—form a "think tank" to deal with Lumpkin, the school bully. Through a quirky stroke of luck in the fourth grade, Leon had created a look-a-like doll of a frumpy teacher. The look-a-like doll seemed to have magical powers; when pointed at the teacher, the teacher did what the doll did. The trio decides to recreate the experiment by making a look-a-like image of Lumpkin. The basic idea is to use the doll to "encourage" Lumpkin away from being a bully and hurting everyone. Science experiments can be more fun that you think; much of the book is a delightful story about potato chips and learning about science through very creative lab experiments. Mr. Sparks believes in total participation, finding ways to involve everyone in the process. One of the most exciting events is a field trip to a potato chip factory which is chock-full of surprise ins and outs that only a creative fifth grader would know how to pull off. The conclusion of the book finds our trio andmany new friends involved in a Championship Competition. This is a page turner that will be hard to put down. Wait until you find out what happens to Lumpkin, the purple pouch and Leon. 2005, Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers, and Ages 8 up.—Joe Ann Hinrichs