This is the 17th in the series
Hank Zipzer A Brand New Me!
Grosset and Dunlap April 2010
It is graduation time and Hank's friends Ashley and Frankie get accepted to the Anderson Middle School Gifted and Talented Program. That means Hank and his best friends will be separated for the first time since they started school.
Hank hasn't completed the community service work required for graduation from PS 87. Luckily Mr. Rock, the music teacher, needs help. While cleaning band instruments, Mr. Rock overhears one of Hank's humorous monologues. He sees that Hank has talent and wants him to apply to the Professional Performing Arts School. All they have to do is have Hank's dad agree to the audition.
Will Hank audition and will he pass? Those are questions answered if you read this book.
In this series Hank is a smart kid, with learning disabilities, dealing with many obstacles during his time in the 4th and 5th grade. The stories were inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler.
I think this series would be a great read for kids with learning disabilities and for kids without disabilities as well.
They are being read by the kids in our county. Our library has a display table just for this series of books. They seem to be popular, because many of them are being read - leaving just a copy of the book cover on display, stating that the book is currently checked out.
Have you or your kids read any of the books? If not, I suggest that you give them a try. These books are well written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. Since I started to write, I have this bad habit of editing books while I read them. I have found that I do very little internal editing when I read these books.
Happy reading and go over to Shannon Messenger's site for more suggestions on Middle Grade books.
Writing your own books does change how you read stories from other authors. The Hank Zipzer series sounds like a good one that many kids could relate to. I have them on my TBR list along with about 30 other titles!
ReplyDeleteHi Greg. You have a long list, but it will be fun reading them. I wish I could turn off my internal editor when reading, but, unfortunately, I haven't been able to.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this story, and am very intrigued! I did a little theatre many years ago, and could really relate to any pre-audition nerves. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDelete--Suzanne
www.suzannewarr.com
Hi Suzanne. I think everyone gets a case of nerves at one time or another, and Hank is no exception.
DeleteYes, I love Hank Zipzer. And I love that Henry Winkler based it on his own childhood. I haven't read this volume, but it sounds like a winner.
ReplyDeleteI don't think wanting to edit books you read is a bad habit. I think it means you're really a writer. I do that all the time now, thinking, oh, I would have made this happen instead. Or, why did the author use that word? But there are also plenty of times I'm in awe of the writing and wouldn't change a thing -- learning from books like that is best.
Joanne, I've learned a lot by reading books, too. It makes you a better writer.
DeleteI haven't read any of these books yet, but I have been hearing about them and they sound good. I will definitely check some of them out when I get the chance. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteHi Rosi, they are a fun read.
DeleteI keep hearing about this series! I'll have to try reading one.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea. I hope you do.
DeleteI haven't read any of these books, but they really sound great. I'm sure students would enjoy this series very much. I definitely plan to check these books out of the library.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda. I think the kids would like them, too.
DeleteI've never picked up a Hank Zipzer book, but they do look like fun.
ReplyDeleteThey are. And, every now and then it's fun to read a light hearted, humorous book.
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