Thursday, November 18, 2010

Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Peirce

Cross posting from Mrs. Archer's Book Notes:




I received an Advance Reader’s Copy of Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Pierce.  I did not receive any compensation for reviewing this book.

Kids who love Greg Hefley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid are going to love Nate Wright.  Parents will probably like Nate better.

Based on the comic strip “Big Nate” this series details the trials and tribulations of 6th grader Nate Wright.  Nate finally has a chance to win the coveted SPOFFY Trophy (Sports Played Only For Fun). He’s been selected as a team captain for fleeceball – an indoor version of baseball.  But nothing ever goes smoothly.  Kept after school by a teacher, Nate is unable to make it to the meeting to pick his team.  He lucks out and his best friends Teddy and Francis are on the team, but so is his archenemy – A+ know it all Gina!  Not only does he have to put up with Gina on his fleeceball team, he’s paired with her on a social studies project.  Can things get any worse or more hilarious?

The humor in this book is definitively age appropriate. As an elementary librarian I spend a good deal of time around young children.  The humor is right on target, but it’s not so obnoxious (as some kid like humor – Captain Underpants for example – can be) that adults will not enjoy it as well.  I love Jeff Kinney and his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. But lets be honest, I think I like Nate better. (Don’t worry I’ll still anxiously await any new Wimpy Kid books.) Nate is one of those likeable characters.  Always up to something, but so charming you can’t help but like him.  If you work in a school, you know what I’m talking about.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I received an Advanced Readers’ Copy of this book.  I liked it so much that not only am I going to recommend it to my students, I’ve already ordered a hard cover copy of this and the first book in the series for my library at home.

Recommended for 3rd grade and up. (The AR reading level is 3.0 and even though Nate is a 6th grader, based on my experience I’m pretty sure 3rd grade and older will enjoy this book.)

Mrs. Archer’s rating: 5 of 5



2 comments:

Susan from Reading World said...

Thank you for this recommendation. At Christmastime I'm often stumped for book gifts for younger kids because I can't remember what age my kids were reading what.

Booklady said...

Susan - this was a great find for me. I was sort of aware that it was out there, but really hadn't paid much attention to it until I received a copy in the mail. As an elementary librarian I'm especially happy to have found this as I often need recommendations for my students who have already read all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

Booklady