July 12, 2010
Kicking off the George Brown, Class Clown series (a spinoff of Krulik's Katie Kazoo series), this goofy caper centers on goodhearted but troublemaking George, a fourth grader whose mission—to go from being the funny kid who does "dumb stuff that got him into trouble" to "the new, improved, raise-your-hand George"—seems doomed to fail. His campaign gets off to a rocky start: his classmates crack up when he falls on his butt while square dancing in gym class and when pepper makes him sneeze "ropes of snot" at lunch. Things go further awry when George begins to burp uncontrollably—enormous belches that compel him to misbehave. One "magic super burp" drives him to juggle eggs that smash onto the classroom floor; another entices him to ride his skateboard into the art room, where he crashes into a pail of "icky, sticky, papier-mâché goo." Krulik serves up kid-pleasing slapstick and doesn't resolve the burping dilemma, leaving plenty of opportunity for further class clowning. Final art not seen by PW. Also available: Trouble Magnet. Ages 7–9.
September 1, 2010
Gr 2-4-George Brown moves to a new town and leaves his olds friends behind. Having had a reputation as the class clown and funny man, he is determined to mend his ways and get the kids in his new class to like him without jokes. Then his parents take him out for ice cream and he suddenly lets out the biggest burp ever. It takes over his body and he starts dancing on the table. When the burp pops, he doesn't know what came over him and why he isn't able to control himself. The burp haunts him at home and at school, causing him to do such things as skateboard in the hallways. He tries to control it and, in the meantime, make some friends by just being himself. The kids are a typical cast of characters with the popular boy giving George a hard time and the nice nerdy kid befriending him. The story line makes for a fun read, but it's not outstanding or innovative. Line drawings add humor and break up the short chapters. Since the book ends with George questioning whether he can control his burps in the future, more titles in the series are sure to follow.-Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA
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