Charlie Bumpers vs. the Really Nice Gnome (Charlie Bumpers Series)

by Bill Harley, Adam Gustavson

Overview

Charlie Bumpers wants to play the bad guy in the class play, but his teacher Mrs. Burke has other ideas.

Charlie Bumpers has his heart set on playing the role of the evil Sorcerer in the fourth-grade play. But his dreams of villainous stardom go up in smoke when he finds out that Mrs. Burke has cast him as the Nice Gnome! Determined to rectify this terrible injustice, Charlie concocts one plan after another, but nothing seems to work.

To make matters worse, his dad has assigned chores to all the kids in the family, and Charlie's job is walking Ginger—the diggiest, sniffiest, and poopiest dog in the universe. Can Charlie deal with these challenges without causing havoc all around him?

Black and white illustrations throughout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561459308
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	12/08/2015
Series:	Charlie Bumpers Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Bill Harley is a two-time Grammy Award–winning storyteller, musician, and author who has been writing and performing for kids and families for more than forty years. He has appeared nationally in theaters, schools, libraries, festivals and conferences, as a workshop leader and keynote and inspirational speaker. His picture books and middle-grade novels have won wide acclaim, from Bank Street School of Education Best Books, Children's Choice Awards, Green Earth Book Awards, and pick of the list from ABA.
Harley was called "the Mark Twain of contemporary children's music" by Entertainment Weekly. He lives in Massachusetts.

Adam Gustavson holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and a BFA from Rowan University and has taught at Seton Hall University and Philadelphia's University of the Arts. He is the award-winning illustrator of over thirty books for children. He lives, paints, teaches, and plays music in his home state of New Jersey, along with his charming family and a neurotic poodle.

Editorial Reviews

"A storyteller with an uncanny sense of elementary school humor, Harley has penned a worthy sequel to Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year (2013). With illustrator Gustavson, he captures the frustration that comes with just having to make the best of a bad situation." —Kirkus Reviews

"Strong characters, a fast-moving plot, and amusing black-and-white spot illustrations continue the fun in this second installment." —The Horn Book Guide

"A heartwarming and sometimes laugh-out-loud tale about giving 100 percent even when you're less than thrilled to do so. . . [L]isteners will be eager to find out how his adventure unfolds." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

What a pleasure it is to listen to Bill Harley’s storytelling! He brings an added level of nuance to key moments. Charlie has been cast as the Nice Gnome—not the Evil Sorcerer—in the fourth-grade play, and he’s desperate to to switch his part. As the performance approaches, Charlie hatches many plans to effect the change. As narrator, Harley is totally relaxed and knows just what speed, emphasis, pause, or tone he wants to voice. Whether Charlie is being chastised by his teacher for flubbing his lines, older brother Matt is giving Charlie advice, or sister Mabel is pleading to walk Ginger the dog, Harley knows his characters so well that each scene is spot-on. A.R. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2014 - AudioFile

2014-02-19
Charlie Bumpers knows the role he wants in the fourth-grade class play: Evil Sorcerer Kragon. What does he get? The Nice Gnome. Boogers. Disappointed and angry, the endearing Charlie goes to battle. Three times, he tries to rid himself of the horrible part with its ridiculous costume. He even rewrites all of his lines to make them funny and cool, like the hero of his favorite TV show, Buck Meson—Detective from Andromeda. But Mrs. Burke is unyielding. This role is worse than having to clean up after his dog, Ginger. As the big night approaches, though, a special touch is added to his costume that makes a difference: Big brother Matt has taken a pair of white sneakers and spray painted them gold. "Awesome shoes," Matt says. "Awesome gnome." The last 20 pages quickly give Charlie a golden touch, as he saves the performance in multiple ways. Charlie even gets to ad-lib the Buck Meson quote he worked so hard to include. A storyteller with an uncanny sense of elementary school humor, Harley has penned a worthy sequel to Charlie Bumpers vs. The Teacher of the Year (2013). With illustrator Gustavson, he captures the frustration that comes with just having to make the best of a bad situation. Charlie's fans will be psyched to see that Charlie Bumpers vs. the Squeaking Skull is scheduled for fall 2014. (Fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews