Big Nate: In a Class by Himself (Big Nate series)
Big Nate: in a Class by Himself
Lincoln Peirce (Illustrator)
Often compared with Jeff Kinney’sDiary of a Wimpy Kid for its ability to make kids fall off the bed in hysterics, this series delivers its own fresh dose of cringe-worthy comics and comedy. Nate Wright may look like an average sixth grader, and he admits he’s not exactly Joe Honor Role; nevertheless, he just knows he is destined for greatness. He keeps an illustrated list on his closet door of his special talents, which include soccer (he’s the middle school team goalie), music (he says his band, Enslave the Mollusks, for which he is the drummer, ROCKS!), cartooning (he specializes in teacher caricatures), and table football (“…it might be a tough way to make a living”).
Nate’s cocky ruminations are buttressed with cartoon panels, spot art, sidebars, and occasional full-page cartoons drawn on lined notebook paper. Based on the author’s popular syndicated comic, this side-splitting graphic novel will be a huge hit with readers, who will be relieved to know the second book,Big Nate Strikes Again, is due out in November, 2010.
Reviewed by : JF.
Themes : CARTOONS AND COMICS. HUMOR. MIDDLE SCHOOL.
CRITICS HAVE SAID
- "This fully developed protagonist debuted in a comic strip; this is Peirce’s first book about him, and it is a successful, laugh-out-loud venture. Readers meet a variety of characters, each with a unique personality or trait." – School Library Journal
IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:
- Angleberger, Tom. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. Amulet, 2010.
- Byars, Betsy. The 18th Emergency. Viking, 1973.
- Ferraiolo, Jack D. The Big Splash. Amulet, 2008.
- Gauthier, Gail. A Year with Butch and Spike. Putnam, 1998.
- George, Kristine OConnell. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems. Clarion, 2002.
- Getz, David. Almost Famous. Henry Holt, 1992.
- Gorman, Carol. Dork on the Run. HarperCollins, 2002.
- Holm, Jennifer L., and Matthew Holm. Babymouse: Our Hero. Random House, 2005. (And others in the Babymouse series.)
- Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffleys Journal. Amulet, 2007. (And others in the Wimpy Kid series.)
- Korman, Gordon. This Cant Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. Scholastic, 1978.
- Mass, Wendy. 11 Birthdays. Scholastic, 2009.
- Peirce, Lincoln. Big Nate Strikes Again. HarperCollins, 2010.
- Peirce, Lincoln. I Smell a Pop Quiz!: A Big Nate Book. United Media, 2009.
- Russell, Rachel Renee. Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life. Aladdin, 2009. (And others in the Dork Diaries series.)
- Watterson, Bill. The Days are Just Packed: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection. Andrews McMeel, 1993.
- Vernon, Ursula. Dragonbreath. Dial, 2009.
- Winkler, Henry, and Lin Oliver. Niagara Falls, or Does It? Grosset & Dunlap, 2003. (And others in the Hank Zipzer series.)
- Yee, Lisa. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. Scholastic, 2005.