Overview
For Hank, fourth grade does not start out on the right foot. First of all, he gets called to the principal's office on the very first day of school. Then the first assignment his teacher gives him is to write five paragraphs on "What You Did This Summer." Hank is terrified-writing one good sentence is hard for him, so how in the world is he going to write five whole paragraphs? Hank comes up with a plan: instead of writing what he did on vacation, he'll show what he did. But when Hank's "living essay" becomes a living disaster, he finds himself in detention. Strangely enough, however, detention ends up becoming a turning point in his life.
Inspired by his own experiences with undiagnosed dyslexia, actor/director Henry Winkler presents this new series about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a fourth-grader with learning differences. When Hank Zipzer has to write an essay on what he did over the summer, he decides instead to "show" what he did.
Synopsis
For Hank, fourth grade does not start out on the right foot. First of all, he gets called to the principal's office on the very first day of school. Then the first assignment his teacher gives him is to write five paragraphs on "What You Did This Summer." Hank is terrified-writing one good sentence is hard for him, so how in the world is he going to write five whole paragraphs? Hank comes up with a plan: instead of writing what he did on vacation, he'll show what he did. But when Hank's "living essay" becomes a living disaster, he finds himself in detention. Strangely enough, however, detention ends up becoming a turning point in his life.
Publishers Weekly
A new series-Hank Zipzer: The Mostly True Confessions of the World's Best Underachiever-starts off with a bang, thanks to these two misadventures of a fourth-grader with "learning challenges." Hank addresses readers directly with a deadpan voice. He lives in New York City with his crossword puzzle-addicted father, a mother who produces such dubious treats as vegetarian bologna at her deli ("Unfortunately for me, my lunch is her laboratory," says Hank), and his sister ("Emily the Perfect") and her pet iguana. When his teacher, Ms. Adolf, assigns a five-paragraph essay on what they did over the summer, Hank feels stymied until he decides to "build" his essay instead-a working model of Niagara Falls-and the plan backfires spectacularly. In the second book, Hank's report card (straight D's) winds up in the grinder for the soy salami that his mother hopes will attract the attention of the city's biggest supermarket chain. It's up to Hank to remedy the disaster. Both tales deftly blend comedy and pathos, and the exploration of Hank's academic struggles is never heavy-handed. The characters are well-drawn, from the endearingly hapless but determined Hank himself to a solid supporting cast that includes Hank's pals, his sympathetic grandfather and his arch-enemy, Nick McKelty (a bully with a head "the size of Rhode Island"). With snappy timing, pitch-perfect dialogue and a wise-cracking delivery, these two tales should attract an enthusiastic readership-not limited to, but certainly including, reluctant readers. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Actor Henry Winkler and producer Lin Oliver team up for a laugh-out-loud and thoughtful series about a fourth-grader dealing with school life, family, and his own "learning differences."When Hank Zipzer's teacher assigns an essay on summer vacation, Hank begins sweating bullets -- although he doesn't "have a problem remembering interesting facts," he "just can't do a lot with them." Frustrated by his writing troubles, Hank decides to skip the essay and instead create a working replica of Niagara Falls. But when his masterpiece leads to classroom chaos, Hank lands in two weeks of detention and out of the Magik 3 show. Fortunately, though, Hank's detention monitor is a cool music teacher who spots the trouble and suggests he get tested for learning challenges, and after he talks with Mr. and Mrs. Zipzer, Hank has no trouble getting back into the show.
With a comical character and several hilarious scenes, this first Hank Zipzer installment will surely hook readers while enlightening them about people who learn differently. Winkler and Oliver smartly remember to focus on fun without getting too heavy-handed with the message, and audiences will come away anxious for more. This "world's best underachiever" should have no trouble hitting the heights of success.
Publishers Weekly
A new series-Hank Zipzer: The Mostly True Confessions of the World's Best Underachiever-starts off with a bang, thanks to these two misadventures of a fourth-grader with "learning challenges." Hank addresses readers directly with a deadpan voice. He lives in New York City with his crossword puzzle-addicted father, a mother who produces such dubious treats as vegetarian bologna at her deli ("Unfortunately for me, my lunch is her laboratory," says Hank), and his sister ("Emily the Perfect") and her pet iguana. When his teacher, Ms. Adolf, assigns a five-paragraph essay on what they did over the summer, Hank feels stymied until he decides to "build" his essay instead-a working model of Niagara Falls-and the plan backfires spectacularly. In the second book, Hank's report card (straight D's) winds up in the grinder for the soy salami that his mother hopes will attract the attention of the city's biggest supermarket chain. It's up to Hank to remedy the disaster. Both tales deftly blend comedy and pathos, and the exploration of Hank's academic struggles is never heavy-handed. The characters are well-drawn, from the endearingly hapless but determined Hank himself to a solid supporting cast that includes Hank's pals, his sympathetic grandfather and his arch-enemy, Nick McKelty (a bully with a head "the size of Rhode Island"). With snappy timing, pitch-perfect dialogue and a wise-cracking delivery, these two tales should attract an enthusiastic readership-not limited to, but certainly including, reluctant readers. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
For a kid with Hank's "learning challenges," it is not easy to come up with a five-paragraph essay on what he did over summer vacation, so he substitutes an impressive—but disastrous—working model of Niagara Falls instead. But grounded by his parents for two weeks afterward, how is he going to participate in the magic show he and his two best friends are staging at Papa Pete's bowling alley, and triumph over the neighborhood bully? Winkler and Oliver try a bit too hard to cover all bases, with their carefully constructed interracial cast of friends and over-the-top slapstick humor in the Niagara Falls scene climaxed by "muddy, mushy Niagara Falls" landing "with a splat all over [the principal's' face." Not to mention the overly positive message that "learning challenges" just reflect brain differences that, like pickles in Papa Pete's pickle barrel, "are all different and all delicious to someone." But laugh-out-loud humor is abundant and absolutely on target for its intended audience, as when Hank wonders why his grim teacher would bother to pick a piece of lint off her skirt: "It's not like she looks that good anyway," with her "gray skirt and a gray blouse, which match her gray hair and gray glasses, not to mention her gray face"—and especially when her gray skirt already has chalk marks shaped like donkey ears "on her butt." Newcomer Winkler and veteran Oliver have produced a likeable, funny book. 2003, Grosset & Dunlap,— Claudia Mills