Skip to main content

THE MISFITS by James Howe



copyright date: 2001
primarily marketed for: grades 4-8

In honor of No Name-Calling Week, the idea for which originated with this book, I thought I would post a review of The Misfits by James Howe.  

This book has one of my favorite leads:
"So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis."
I think I like it because it is such an inviting introduction to Bobby and Skeezie, two of the four friends referred to in the book’s title. 

Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe are seventh graders who decide to create their own political party to run in the student council election.  Their goal is simple: to put an end to name-calling.  Who doesn’t think that is a good idea?

The wonderful things about this book aren’t limited to the positive messages about acceptance and kindness that it communicates, however. 

In fact, one of the best things about this book is the format through which it is told.  Regular prose chapters are interrupted by chapters of dialogue amongst the four friends that is formatted like a play.  The switch in format adds a different sort of energy to the story and brings the characters to life through their realistic conversations. 

Another plus is the humor that James Howe infuses into this story.  I mean, how could it not be humorous with a character named Skeezie Tookis, right?  

One of my favorite parts is when they are first exploring the idea of the No Name Party.  The four friends list all the names they have ever been called.  The result is a heart-breaking list.  However, their conversation left me smiling since the friends end up competing to see who can come up with the longest list!

If you read this story, you will surely reflect on your own experiences with name-calling, you will definitely chuckle, and you are undoubtedly going to find yourself cheering for four misfits who are trying to empower people to be themselves as they discover the kind of people they want to be. 

Labels:

Comments

  1. Deb DayJanuary 23, 2012 at 6:20 AM

    Hmmm, this is not a book I have read, although I know it's been out for awhile. I may have to check this out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MaryHelenJanuary 23, 2012 at 8:44 PM

    I love the little humor you add in. I love your reviews. So refreshing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. https://booksthoughtsadventures.comJanuary 23, 2012 at 8:54 PM

    I love books about misfits almost as much as I love books about dysfunction!!!

    Thank you for bringing it to my attention!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. MandyMarch 13, 2012 at 2:33 AM

    This is a great novel! Hilarious AND heartfelt. It is one of our class novels during the school year, and my students love it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 20, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    this book sucks because I have to do a project on it

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

You knew it was coming.  How could I not share?  EVERYONE MUST READ JOHN GREEN’S LATEST WORK OF ART: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS .  Throughout my life (well, at least from 4 th grade, when I was introduced to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl until now, the 7 th month of my 34 th year of noticing the universe) the name ‘Augustus’ immediately evoked an image of a chubby, stubborn, chocolate-loving boy, doted upon by his mother, with the last name of Gloop.  The name ‘Augustus’ made me giggle about this character’s gluttonous follies inside the chocolate factory. Until reading John Green’s beloved new book The Fault in Our Stars . From now on, the name ‘Augustus’ will forever evoke an entirely different image and an entirely different set of emotions.  A casually hot, lean, limping ‘Augustus Waters’ has forever replaced the ‘Augustus’ of the book I treasured as a child—an unlit cigarette held loosely between his lips.  A longing sigh ...
9 comments
Read more

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay)

“Every time the monster moved, Conor could hear the creak of wood groaning and yawning in the monster’s huge body.” In her review for the New York Times , Jessica Bruder refers to A Monster Calls as, “A story that lodges in your bones and stays there.”  This, I believe, is an understatement.  I am afraid my words, mere pixels on the screen, cannot begin to honor how truly special this book is. From his words in the Author’s Note, Patrick Ness held me spellbound.  Siobhan Dowd had developed an idea for a book about a monster and a boy whose mom had cancer.  Breast cancer cut her life short and she was unable to finish her story.  Patrick Ness, when asked to craft something from the seed of a story Dowd left behind said, “…the thing about ideas is that they grow other ideas.”  And so, A Monster Calls was born out of Dowd’s seed and Ness’s nurturing. I suppose a book with that kind of conception was bound to be incredible, but I am sure not even ...
7 comments
Read more

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safran Foer

copyright date: 2005 primarily marketed for: adults Extremely Loud andIncredibly Close is the grown-up book that made me fall in love with grown-up books again.   Or, at least made me open to reading them after years of sticking solely to young adult literature (aka Good Literature).    This book arrived on my doorstep as a surprise gift from a friend I’ve known since second grade, which made it that much sweeter.    I can’t decide whether to be excited or disappointed that this book is being turned into a movie now.   Everyone needs to know this story- it is incredible!   I just can’t imagine the movie possibly doing the depth and layers and format of the story justice.   One of my favorite qualities of the book is the way pages of images are smattered throughout the story. The images are jarring the way that they interrupt the story, and yet they are perfect in the way that they enhance the story—deepen my thinking as a reader. ...
6 comments
Read more