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Interviews | December 15, 2009

Jill Owens: IMG The Powells.com Interview with Eoin Colfer

2 comments By Jill Owens

eoincolferEoin Colfer is best known for his bestselling Artemis Fowl series, which inspires fanatical devotion in its fans. Entertainment Weekly raved: "The... Continue »
  1. $18.19 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    And Another Thing... (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #6)

    Eoin Colfer

Loser

by Jerry Spinelli

Loser Cover

ISBN13: 9780060540746
ISBN10: 0060540745
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 3 left in stock at $3.50!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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."

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About the Author

Jerry Spinelli is one of the most gifted storytellers in contemporary children’s literature. His books include the Newbery Medal winner Maniac Magee; Loser; Wringer, a Newbery Honor Book; Stargirl; and Knots in My Yo-Yo String, his autobiography. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his real-life experience as a father of six children. Jerry lives with his wife, Eileen, also a writer, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
steponabook, April 22, 2007 (view all comments by steponabook)
your book is so cool n intersting you are such a great author you have great tanent this book is intersting and it make it feel so rilistic thats why i rate u a 5
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crowyhead, December 23, 2006 (view all comments by crowyhead)
This is just totally excellent and beautiful. Donald Zinkoff is a really special kid. He doesn't "get" other kids, really, but most of the time he has so much fun with his life that it doesn't really matter. He laughs so hard at words that he thinks are funny that he falls out of his chair and can't breathe. On the first day of every school year, he wants to know how many days of school are left until he graduates from highschool -- not because he can't wait to get out, but because he luxuriates in the notion of all that time. Spinelli introduces us to Zinkoff in such a way that the reader is completely won over, and then he gradually allows real life to intrude: Zinkoff is awesome, but to his classmates, he's a Loser.

What's amazing about this book is that Spinelli allows Zinkoff to hang onto his individuality and the things that make him both awesome and a loser, but the book remains realistic. In the end, Zinkoff is a hero of a sort, but there's no scene where his classmates realize that they were wrong all along, or anything like that. No, he's still picked on. It's just that he's found a way to be ok with himself, and there's a glimmer of hope that not all the kids will always think of him as just Loser.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060540746
Author:
Spinelli, Jerry
Publisher:
Joanna Cotler Books
Author:
by Jerry Spinelli
Location:
New York
Subject:
Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General
Subject:
Family life
Subject:
Social Situations - General
Subject:
Social Situations - Adolescence
Subject:
Schools
Subject:
Children's 9-12 - Sociology
Subject:
Self-acceptance
Subject:
Social Issues - Adolescence
Subject:
Situations / Adolescence
Edition Description:
1st HarperTrophy ed.
Series Volume:
2649b
Publication Date:
August 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
Children/juvenile
Language:
English
Pages:
218
Dimensions:
7.58x4.50x.54 in. .35 lbs.
Age Level:
08-12
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