Naked Bunyip DancingILLUSTRATED BY Ages: 8–12 Grades: 4–6 Pages: 208 List Price: 16.95 Cover: Hardcover Published: 4/1/2008 ISBN: 1-59078-499-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-499-0 |
A humorous look at the way one quirky teacher brings out the best in each of his students. Steven Herrick delves into the murky waters of a middle-school classroom, complete with a nerdy vegetarian teacher, Mr. Carey. What a crazy class! And what a funny, unpredictable year—the year of Naked Bunyip Dancing—when the students find out who they are, what they’re good at, and how to put on a fantastic show. The cast of characters includes Mr. Carey the Hairy, Billy the punk genius, J-man the rapper, Sophie the poet, Ahmet the soccer star, Anna the yoga master, Peter the boy with the talking bottom, Emily the ballerina, and others, each with a special talent. Mr. Carey introduces strange, new activities—from belly dancing to poetry jams—and the class responds with a passion for learning. The night of the class concert will undoubtedly be one of the best nights of their lives. Awards
Reviews"The characters are fun (Peter is allergic to sports, and he farts even when the class does yoga), as are the angry insults (“uglier than a hippopotamus") and the emotional dramas (“Ring her and say I’m sorry?"). Decorated with occasional ink cartoons, including 24 small portraits of the kids, this book will be a good choice for readers’ theater and for creative-writing classes." "This novel is a must-read for any young adult who seriously participates in poetic writing or merely expresses an interest in it. Students in upper elementary through middle school are likely to enjoy this novel the most. Recommended." "[A] quick, short novel that allows its readers to do more than the usual amount of imagining around and between the lines. Norling’s drawings in the manner of a twelve-year-old illustrator have quirky, cartoonlike flair." |
