Customer Reviews

The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids (Unicorn Book)

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4 star:		(1)
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I've always remembered reading this book, a surreal and really rather sinister and apocalyptic tale of kids on the run in the name of individuality. The premise bears a lot of similarity to the 1998 movie Disturbing Behavior, with parents zombifying their kids in order to make them behave, but minus the "mature themes". If anything, one could say it was like Disturbing Behavior meets Logan's Run, written for sixth-graders. It's a little-known, but definite, gem.

I first remember noticing this book in the first few weeks of seventh grade, sitting in the back of my English teacher's small library. Somehow, the concept of a group of kids rebelling against the petty teachers and mindless rules of the school appealed to me. Gee, I could never figure out why. The whole book is odd, though. Stanley Kiesel seems to have created a whole universe of his own yet he never fully lets us in on it all. The book's climax and coda shows us these new kids' societies Kiesel imagines -- the Bookworms, of course, being the utterly coolest. But my big question is, among all the wars and the subsequent stories afterwards, were are the parents?

I bought this book when I was in elementary school. I read it and was so taken aback that I read it over. It was so creative that, for the first time, I was swept into a story. I would lose all track of time. Like the bookworms I started to take the book to the dinner table with me. I've read a dozen times since then and always come back to it when I think about the greatest book I've ever read.

I first read this in elementary school and remember describing the characters (the talking ant! the rococo knight!) to anyone who would listen. I didn't yet know what rococo meant, but that lessened my excitement not at all.

I reread it in high school (the sardonic years) and again every few years as an adult. I think it holds up better than, say, Catcher in the Rye, in terms of me still cheering madly for the protagonist.

A few scenes really stuck out for me. . .and not just the big obvious ones, like shark-infested rice pudding and the disastrous results of teachers harnessing the molecular structure of peanut butter. No, the stuff I thought was really *interesting* when I was young (and riotously funny when I was older) were things like when the teachers were at a tournament to determine who would win the war, they sat on risers similar to elementary school assemblies. If I remember correctly, the kindergarten teachers sat cross legged on the ground in front of the risers, JUST LIKE THEIR CHILD COUNTERPARTS. That progression from K to 5th. . .floor to top riser. . .that's the kind of childhood experience Stanley Kiesel nailed perfectly in his writing. It lends authenticity through detail to the rest of the book. The character development is fantastic. You can practically smell some of these kids and teachers and ants and she-wolfs.

My now-husband got me a First Edition copy when we were dating. Best present ever.

Highly recommend this book.

After "The Phantom Tollbooth," this was one of my very favorite books as a kid. Super dark and inventive revenge fantasies for children.

What a wonderful book! I read it as a child, and still pull out my old dog-eared copy every few years to give myself a pick-me-up. The author's outrageous creativity and humor only add to the poignancy of the subject matter.

I read this book over and over. The plot has so much tension, it's hard to put it down. There are also wonderful descriptions of people and things and wonderful names, like Mr. Snockadocka or Miss Solemnsides. I wish there were a sequel!!!!

I remember reading this book as a kid and loving it. It had the most obscure and creative plot I have ever read and it made the story just wonderful! I highly recomend this book to children of all ages.

Shark-infested rice pudding! Just like mom used to make! This book should be required reading.

This is a great children's book that I still love now that I've grown up. The story follows a kid named Skinny Malinky and his friends through assorted misadventures at school that lead to an all-out war between the kids and the teachers. The book is very creative and very funny!