Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance [Paperback]

Betsy Byars (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Bingo Brown

Confidently beginning his definitive Guide to Romance as a legacy to his younger brother, Bingo finds his advice being put to the test when his long-distance girlfriend, Melissa, comes to town and wants nothing to do with him. Reprint. K. SLJ.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This journal of Bingo's trials of love, presented as an instruction manual for his little brother, is "poignant and hilarious by turns," said PW. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- Bingo Brown is back in this fourth hilarious yet poignant account of life on an adolescent roller coaster. He begins his definitive ``Guide to Romance'' as a legacy for baby brother, Jamie, just as a new romantic disaster occurs. Melissa, the love of his life and the only girl to smell of gingersnaps, returns to town unexpectedly. Bingo, as usual, is a likable, bright, wry character stumbling towards maturity. The short chapters, comic style, and immediacy of his thoughts and feelings add to the appeal. While this volume stands solidly alone, Bingo's fans will applaud his return--and hope that the saga continues. --Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140360808
• ISBN-13: 978-0140360806
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,923,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Betsy Byars began her writing career rather late in life First, she married and started a family. The writing career didn't emerge until she was 28, a mother of two children, and living in a small place she called the barracks apartment, in Urbana, Illinois. She and her husband, Ed, had moved there in 1956 so he could attend graduate school at the University of Illinois. She was bored, had no friends, and so turned to writing to fill her time. Byars started writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post, Look,and other magazines. As her family grew and her children started to read, she began to write books for young people and, fortunately for her readers, discovered that there was more to being a writer than sitting in front of a typewriter. "Once a wanderer came by my house and showed me how to brush my teeth with a cherry twig; that went in The House of WingsThe Summer of the Swans." Since that time, Byars has written more than 45 books for young readers and has won numerous awards, including The American Book Award, which she received in 1981 for The Night Swimmers. The humor, compassion, and insight Byars brings to each of her books won her a large audience of admirers both in the United States and abroad. Six of her novels were presented on national television, and her books are translated into nine languages. Six of Byars' novels have been named ALA Notable Books, and in 1971, The Summer of the Swans -- a story about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother -- won the Newbery Award as the most distinguished contribution to literature for children in the year of its publication. Byars was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 7, 1928. Unlike many of the characters in her books, Byars grew up in a normal, loving family. Her father was an engineer and worked as a bookkeeper in a cotton mill. He was stern and hardworking and had a strong sense of humor. Her mother was a lively woman who loved acting and music. Byars's sister, Nancy, two years older, was sometimes an inspiration and sometimes an evil nemesis. Byars has always been adventurous and never allows a few setbacks to prevent her from doing things she wants to experience, like petting a blacksnake and flying planes. The snake was named Moon and became the subject of her 1991 autobiography, The Moon and I. Betsy Byars and her husband live on an air strip in South Carolina, and have traveled widely throughout the United States in pursuit of their interest in gliding and antique airplanes. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Suprise Visit, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance (Paperback)

I really like the book Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance. The book is about Bingo's love Melissa. Melissa lives in Bixiby, Oklahoma far away from Bingo. Bingo has decided to write a book called Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance which he has decided to dedicate to his baby brother, Jamie. Bingo writes in the book mostly every day but usually has nothing much to write about until one day, he sees Melissa at the grocery store. Amazed, Bingo's first questions are, why didn't she tell me she was coming? And, is that really Melissa? Because to Bingo she seems much bigger.When Bingo knows that it really is Melissa and he sees her, he doesn't know what to say. Why didn't she tell me she was coming, he always wonders. This book is so good that you won't want it to end, my friends that have read it say. I agree.