Hello, I'm Richard Nimz, prospector of the written word and literary explorer extraordinaire. In the interest of ending today's blogs on a high note, I've decided to review not only something much lighter, but also something for a slightly younger audience. It's also got a point to make of its own, which I think is only a little less important than the book on my previous blog post. This book is Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to NOT Reading, by Tommy Greenwald.
Citation: Greenwald, Tommy (2011). Charlie
Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Summary: Charlie Joe Jackson is a child with an unusual claim to fame: in his entire life, he has never read a book from cover-to-cover. His system works surprisingly well until the person who reads the 'middle' of the books for him decides to drop him. Now Charlie has to find a way to keep his track record unblemished, and he will go to any extremes to avoid that most hated of activities: reading.
Impressions: Don't dismiss this as a Diary of a Wimpy Kid knockoff: it's actually a darn good book in its own way. Charlie Joe Jackson, while having a pathological hatred of reading that leads him to very extreme actions, remains likable and relatable throughout the book (as a bonus, he even has a likable and relatable family, whom he likes in kind). This book is also pretty funny and very insightful into all sorts of things relating to middle school, from boy-girl interactions to how to 'cheat' at school assignments. Maybe this is just me, but my favorite part is how the book seems to say 'reading is kind of overrated and you don't have to be a bookworm to be intelligent', as well as how it says it without being preachy (helped along by the fact that most of Charlie's friends enjoy reading). I'd definitely keep this around to show kids who hate reading as well as adults who are thinking of becoming teachers (possibly as book-to-movie day, to show books that the staff and patrons would love to see on the big screen). Elizabeth Bird takes the concluding words right out of my mouth here: "All in all it’s a great little book (and I say that in spite of Charlie Joe’s rousing/baffling endorsement of The Giving Tree). This is definitely the book to hand those The Strange Case of Origami Yoda fans out there who are looking for more, and it’ll probably satisfy non-non-readers as well. Book haters of the world, your spokesman is here."
Auxiliary Sources:
Bird, Elizabeth (21 Sep, 2011). Review of the Day: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald — @fuseeight A Fuse #8 Production. School Library Journal. Retrieved from: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2011/09/21/review-of-the-day-charlie-joe-jacksons-guide-to-not-reading-by-tommy-greenwald/#_
No comments:
Post a Comment