Loser – Judy Freeman’s Booktalk: Back-to-School Books – Brief Article
Judy Freeman
LOSER.
By Jerry Spinelli. HarperCollins, 2002; 218 pages; $15.99 (Gr. 4-8).
In school, Donald Zinkoff just smiles, even when kids steal his hat and twist his wrist. He’s sloppy and clumsy and throws up a lot. From second to sixth grade, Donald is the kid with no best friend, and the student teachers find most annoying. His earnestness is juxtaposed against the casual cruelties others inflict upon him.
ACTIVITY: As discussion points and writing prompts start with: Would you be Donald’s friend? Why or why not?
JUDY FREEMAN, a children’s literature consultant and workshop presenter (www.JudyReadsBooks.com), is the author of More Books Kids Will Sit Still For (Bowker/Greenwood, 1995).
COPYRIGHT 2002 Scholastic, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group
