Loser
by Jerry Spinelli
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jerry SpinelliBrand: Harper Collins Publishers
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-07-29
ISBN: 0060540745
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of Loser
Book Review: Zinkoff's life
Summary: 5 Stars
I really liked the book LOSER. Zinkoff has a lot of adventures and carries them away. Like when he was scared of a furnace monster and he stuck a sock in his mouth so his mom wouldn't here him screaming at the top of his lungs. I also liked that you make it sounds like Zinkoff is having a big fun adventure. With weird obstacles in his life. He is also weird and funny due to the fact that he stunk at everything but didn't even notice. He doesn't care if he has a friend or not he has much fun without a friend. He does many weird like throwing up normally, running down the streets yelling "Yahoo," and laughing at a word like "Japib." He is weird like when a bully takes his hate, he doesn't start crying and yelling to get back. He just acts like the bully is his friend and wants to look at his hat. In fourth grade he has a teacher who thinks the "Z" should be first. So instead of sitting in the back like he usually would. He sits right in the front row and is as happy as can be. In Zinkoff's field day it is all races. So he thinks it is just fun and losing doesn't matter. So when his team lost the last race. His team was so mad at him because he stunk and everyone calls him loser. When everyone calls Zinkoff a loser. He doesn't mind at all. So lets just say everyone thinks he is weird, he does weird things and he is a loser. But his parents point of view is completely different. They think he is fine at school and isn't a loser. But when they asked "How did field day go." He just says "I'm a loser." and starts crying. That is when his parents find out. But everyday he comes home as happy as can be. So they think nothing is wrong . Which there isn't so it doesn't matter. He doesn't care. Zinkoff gets picked last in all sports. But he doesn't mind. I am just trying to say I really liked this book. Because I think Jerry Spinelli is a good writer and just makes the story get better and better as you read. He makes the story have so many adventures and one thing Zinkoff does Jerry can just do anything to make it more interesting. That is why I rated this book a five-star book.
Summary of Loser
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like "Jabip."
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyone else. And one winter night, Zinkoff's differences show that any name can someday become "hero."
Donald Zinkoff is one of the greatest kids you could ever hope to meet. He laughs easily, he likes people, he loves school, he tries to rescue lost girls in blizzards, he talks to old ladies. The only problem is, he's a loser. Until fourth grade, Zinkoff's uncontrollable giggling in class, sloppy handwriting, horrible flute playing, bad grades, clumsiness, and ineptitude at sports go largely unnoticed. When he blows a race for his team, however, his transition to loserdom is complete: "[Loser] is the word. It is Zinkoff's new name. It is not in the roll book." Fortunately, he doesn't really notice. As he did in Stargirl, Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli again explores the cruelty of a student body and how it does and doesn't affect one student, pure of spirit. Presumably if Loser makes one child view a "different kid" as a three-dimensional character, Spinelli will consider his book successful.
The author recounts Zinkoff's story--a case study of sorts--in short sentences from a deliberately reportorial point of view, documenting the first years of the boy's life and his evolution into a loser. What makes the book charming and buoyant is that the reader, like Zinkoff's parents and his favorite teacher, appreciates the boy's oblivious joie de vivre and his divine quirks. What is less compelling about the novel is the "let this be a lesson to us" heavy-handedness that accompanies the reportorial approach. Still, Spinelli comes through again with a lively, often moving story with humor and heart to spare. (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin Snelson
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