Middle school is a tough time for lots of kids. It's so important for them to fit in with those around them, and kids who don't achieve this can be made to feel very small and somehow not enough by their peers. In this novel, four kids who have suffered for not being like everyone else, have created the Gang of Five. They have left room for another kid like them who might be out there looking for somewhere to belong. Now they've begun a new year at middle school, and they are about to take us along on a journey through bullying and politics and what it's like to try to get people to see you for who you really are.
288 pages 978-0689839566 Ages 11-15
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
*********
A group of middle school misfits band together in this first, bestselling book of the funny, heartfelt, and beloved series by Bunnicula author James Howe.
Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That’s how it was with us, Skeezie Tookis, Addie Carle, Joe Bunch, and me.
Bobby is the quiet one, the chubby one, the kid who just wants to get through seventh grade unseen and unscathed. He hates the names he’s called, but he figures there’s nothing he can do about it—until Addie comes up with a plan. Will her campaign to end name-calling at Paintbrush Falls Middle School change anything? One thing is for sure: it will change Bobby forever.
This book inspired a national No Name-Calling Week.---from the publisher
