Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish

by Zoe Tokushige Narrated by Sara Matsui-Colby

Overview

A hilarious story of new-school hijinks, filled with friendship, family, and plenty of pranks--perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

Meet Airi Sano. After spending her entire childhood moving from one military base to another, she's excited to be settling down for the long-term in Hawai'i. She's less excited about her new teacher, who's determined to make Airi like school. But she's got a plan: prank her teacher so hard that she gives up on even trying to get Airi to do any work-especially any reading.

But Mrs. Ashton won't give up, no matter what Airi does. Airi will need the help of her new classmates-who might even be her new friends-to get Mrs. Ashton to crack. It's time . . . for a prank war!

New School Skirmish kicks off a brand-new series for readers to adore!

Praise for Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish:

“The ultimate prankster has arrived! Airi Sano is guaranteed to keep readers on their toes!” -Booki Vivat, New York Times bestselling author of the Frazzled series

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish:
 
“The ultimate prankster has arrived! She’s clever, creative, and ready to cause a little trouble. With her scrappy attitude and an unlimited supply of classroom antics, Airi Sano is guaranteed to keep readers on their toes!” –Booki Vivat, New York Times bestselling author of the Frazzled series
 
“Zoe Tokushige’s debut novel is clever, heartfelt, and fun! Readers will fall in love with Airi Sano’s doodles, reports, and flair for pranks.” –Maia and Alex Shibutani, authors of the Kudo Kids series and Amazing: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Inspire Us All
 
“You’ll fall for the stupendous Airi and her hilarious hijinks!” –Remy Lai, award-winning author of Pie in the Sky

* "Tokushige embeds her tale and its realistically multicultural cast in a Hawaiian setting that positively bursts with vivid details of daily life, speech, and spirit. Naalchigar adds lots of monochrome portraits and spot art of food, shirts, and other local color to match." –Booklist, STARRED review

"A hilarious, charming story full of humor and mischief." –Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2022-07-13
Airi uses every trick she knows to test her new teacher’s limits.

Airi Sano often gets in trouble with adults because she likes to pull pranks, but she just wants to make people laugh. As part of an Army family, Japanese American Airi’s moved around a lot, and she’s always felt misunderstood and left out. Now that they’re settling in Hawaii, where her dad is from (her mom is from Japan), she’s excited at the prospect of making real friends but less thrilled about starting sixth grade. Airi tries to get her teacher to see that she’s a lost cause, but Mrs. Ashton never gets angry with her. A prank war ensues—documented through Airi’s Official Personal Personnel File as well as incident reports, situation reports, maps, and footnotes—and Airi enlists the help of her new friends to get Mrs. Ashton to snap. Airi’s feisty attitude and love for joking around lighten this clever story that is full of laughs, family, and friendship. Her difficulties in school and diagnosis of dyslexia touch on struggles and feelings many readers experience. Numerous sweet black-and-white illustrations add to the fun, showing lively scenes, food, and more. The supporting cast represents the diversity of Honolulu.

A hilarious, charming story full of humor and mischief. (Fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175038782
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Series:	AIRI SANO, PRANKMASTER GENERAL , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

The US Army has a file on me at least five hundred pages thick. An OMPF. That’s what Mom says, anyway. She says we ought to request it so I can “learn the effects of my behavior” and “start to think before I act.” She always sighs when she says that. Then she looks up at the ceiling and asks, “How did I raise such a delinquent?”

I like it better when she gets mad. Her face gets all red like a pepper, and she uses my full name: “Airi. Evelyn. Sano.” Like that. You can hear the periods. It always makes me giggle. When she sighs, there’s nothing to laugh at.

I had to look up the word “delinquent” online when she first used it. There were a few definitions. Here are my favorites:

delinquent (de-­LING-­kwent)
1. noun—­a usually young person who regularly performs illegal or immoral acts
2. adjective—neglectful of a duty or obligation; guilty of a misdeed or offense
Synonyms: offender, wrongdoer, malefactor, lawbreaker, culprit, criminal

I also found a bunch of mug shots. Turns out that means pictures of criminals, not actual mugs. At first I thought “mug” stood for something, like MUG: Mostly Unwashed Guy. Then I remembered back when Dad was stationed at Fort Mackall-­Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, I heard one of my teachers say a kid had “a mug only a mother could love” after he broke his nose falling off the jungle gym. I asked Dad about it later and he said “mug” is an old-­fashioned way of saying “face,” but he didn’t know why. I didn’t get it then, and I don’t get it now.

These days, when Mom calls me a delinquent, I leave little drawings of what my mug shot might look like—if I ever actually get arrested—all over the house for her. I even asked my obaachan (that’s what I call my grandma in Japan) how to write “delinquent” in kanji (꼇좁큽) to really make my point. I like to hide the pictures so she’ll find them when she least expects it. Sometimes I’ll be across the house and I’ll hear her yelp when she opens the bathroom cabinet and sees me smirking back.

“Smirking” means “to smile in an insincere manner.” A teacher once accused me of smirking and gave me a demerit. When I said I didn’t even know what a smirk was, she gave me a second demerit and a note to give my parents. Mom sighed extra loud that day.

I started drawing the mug shots because I thought they were funny. I hoped they would make Mom laugh. Dad likes them. He collects them all for my file and compliments me on the different faces. But Mom never laughs. Which is the whole point.

What I’m saying is that she thinks I’m bad. Everyone thinks I’m bad. People just don’t have a sense of humor. They don’t get it. That’s why I started my own case file. An Official Personal Personnel File (aka an OPPF). If the army is going to keep a report on me, I want to tell my side of the story too.

Now when I get put out in the hall or sent to the vice principal’s office, I’ll be documenting it. Then the next time I get called in for a “talk” on why I’m not “fitting in,” I won’t have to say a word. All I’ll have to do is give them my file. This portfolio of information, all for them to see. Just like the ones that Dad brings home sometimes, the ones that aren’t classified. That way when Mom or my teacher or anyone asks, “What were you thinking, Airi?” I’ll be able to show them this.

And if you still think I’m bad, then fine. If this is bad, then I’ll be bad. I’ll be the happiest, baddest delinquent you’ve ever seen.

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