Loser
Donald Zinkoff is one of the greatest kids you could ever hope to meet.  He laughs easily, he likes people, he loves school, he tries to rescue lost  girls in blizzards, he talks to old ladies. The only problem is, he's a loser.  Until fourth grade, Zinkoff's uncontrollable giggling in class, sloppy  handwriting, horrible flute playing, bad grades, clumsiness, and ineptitude at  sports go largely unnoticed. When he blows a race for his team, however, his  transition to loserdom is complete: "[Loser] is the word. It is Zinkoff's new  name. It is not in the roll book." Fortunately, he doesn't really notice. As he  did inStargirl, Newbery  Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli again explores the cruelty of a student body  and how it does and doesn't affect one student, pure of spirit. Presumably ifLosermakes one child view a "different kid" as a three-dimensional  character, Spinelli will consider his book successful.The author recounts Zinkoff's story--a case study of sorts--in short sentences  from a deliberately reportorial point of view, documenting the first years of  the boy's life and his evolution into a loser. What makes the book charming and  buoyant is that the reader, like Zinkoff's parents and his favorite teacher,  appreciates the boy's oblivious joie de vivre and his divine quirks. What is  less compelling about the novel is the "let this be a lesson to us"  heavy-handedness that accompanies the reportorial approach. Still, Spinelli  comes through again with a lively, often moving story with humor and heart to  spare. (Ages 8 to 12)--Karin Snelson--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.