Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips [Hardcover]

Phyllis Shalant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1995

Hoping to avoid bullying by the meanest girl in the school, Zachary, the smallest guy in the sixth grade, appeals to an athletic friend for body-building tips, until a cute classmate starts to like Zachary just the way he is.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. Zach wishes he wasn't the shortest, scrawniest boy in the sixth grade. Despite all his chin-ups and workouts, his muscles look like zits. A girl in his class agrees to teach him tae kwon do: does that mean she likes him or that she wants to fight? Then he's invited to his first boy-girl party, and he's ecstatic. Elated. Terrified. What do you do at a boy-girl party? He's been thinking about girls all the time lately. He wishes his best friend, Dunk, would be interested, too, instead of wanting to gross out girls, chasing them around the cafeteria with spaghetti hanging out of his nose. Or is Dunk really as uninterested as he says? This is a laugh-out-loud story about growing up male, written without a trace of condescension. The dialogue captures how boys tease and play on the edge of hostility; how loyalty and jealousy can get in each other's way, even with best friends; what it feels like to be on the verge of adolescence, dreaming of girls, discovering the wonder that "females were made so . . . intelligently!" There's one set teacher's speech about artistic types being heroes, not wimps, but the messages are light, and they grow from the story. Kids will recognize that macho posturing can hide vulnerability and that even though the worst does happen, you get over it. Hazel Rochman

About the Author

Phyllis Shalant's book for children and young adults include The Great Eye, When Pirates Came to Brooklyn, Bartleby of the Big Bad Bayou, and The Society of Super Secret Heroes: The Great Cape Rescue. The author lives in White Plains, New York with her husband and a large dog named Ozzie. Visit her website at www.phyllisshalant.com. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525451994
• ISBN-13: 978-0525451990
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,665,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Even before I could read or write, I was a storyteller. My earliest memory is around the age of two or three, sitting under the kitchen table pretending the chair and table legs were trees, and that I was lost in a forest. I lived in Brooklyn, New York, a place which was magical to many writers, then and now. I was sure there was a witch living in a crumbling house on our block, that I'd meet a ghost in the graveyard of the Old Dutch Church, and that someday the perfect dog would follow me home. We lived in a tiny apartment, but I had the library, the Brooklyn Museum, the Botanical Gardens, and Prospect Park to roam in. Life was always an adventure. I think that's why I write for young readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fourth grade class recommends Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips., January 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips (Paperback)

I am a fourth grade teacher and I read the book Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips as a read aloud to my students. To say we enjoyed the book would be an understatement!

My students really related with the main character and the humourous dilemas he encountered in his daily life as a sixth grader. They were able to get a sneak peek at some of the growing pains they will face as they mature in the next few years. We had wonderful conversations about the maturing process. At times we laughed so hard we couldn't continue reading until we caught our breath.

The piece de resistance for us was receiving a letter from the author telling us she was coming to visit us on January 30th, 1998. She was responding to letters from my students where they shared their opinions about her book and their requests for her to write a sequel (and of course they asked her to visit our classroom).

We highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to laugh and is interested in reading a book about growing up.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book!!!, October 17, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips (Hardcover)

this book is very interesting I really liked it because you never get tired of reading it and you dont want to close the book until you are finished.
I also liked this book because its a story about a teenager like us and many things that happen to him may happen to us.
I really recommend this book
READ IT!!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!, November 28, 2005

By 

Newsgal (Henrietta, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips (Hardcover)

I am writing this review because my son loved this book!! He's a non-fiction lover, but this story kept him captivated and he wanted to keep reading every night. We read most of it together. She really captures what a boy that age is feeling about girls, friends and life in general. A wonderful read!!