Customer Reviews

I Got a D in Salami #2 (Hank Zipzer)

5 star:		(11)
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I remember as a kid, the power the Fonz had on American kids. When his character got a library card, applications for library cards increased nationally. Now that Henry Winkler has turned author, I know he will be impacting more kids in a positive way.

Hank Zipper is a kid with learning disabilities that aren't diagnosed yet. But he doesn't let that stop him. This book moves quickly and is full of vivid descriptions of Hank's adventures. The scene with the two dogs and the chase through the mansion is a hoot!

Kudos to Winkler on this latest venture. This book would be a good classroom read aloud!

This book is hysterical. It helps to have read NIAGRA FALLS, OR DOES IT first, just for the sake of continuity in the story. The description of how the report card ends up in the meat grinder and the meeting of Cheerio the Dachsund and the big dog are hysterical. This book would make a great classroom read aloud for grades 2-5. I think that even the most reluctant of readers would be caught up in Hank's adventures and might even see some familiar traits. Winkler and Oliver vividly and realistically show the struggle that kids like Hank have each day in school. I know that Arthur Fonzarelli would find Hank Zipper to be a cool guy. Aaaay!

We first met our hero, Hank Zipzer, in the book Niagra Falls... or Does It? and learned what a funny guy Hank can be. We met his crossword puzzle crazy dad, his mom who owns the family delicatessen called "The Crunchy Pickle" and who is always trying to invent new lunch meats made out of soy, and also his weird, lizard-loving sister Emily and her pet iguana, Katherine (I ask you, how weird do you have to be to name a lizard "Katherine"??)

In that first book we read the adventures that Hank went through trying to make a working model of Niagra Falls instead of just writing a paper about it, and at the very end when Hank's project make a horrible mess and he spent a week in detention with the music teacher, Mr. Rock, he thought that Hank might have learning challenges and suggested that Hank get tested.

Well, at the beginning of this book Hank is practicing for his weekly spelling test and is having a terrible time trying to remember all the tricky words, like "rhythm". Jumping around the room seems to help, but when he gets to school the next day all those words seemed to have leaked out his ears and he can't remember a thing. In fact, because he argues with his teacher, he winds up being sent to Principal Love's office to do what Hank calls "mole time"-that is, sitting and staring at the Statue of Liberty-shaped mole on the principal's face. To add insult to injury, he gets his REPORT CARD later that day.

Now, MOST kids wind up getting small envelopes with their cards in it, but not Hankie-boy. HE gets a gigantic manila envelope with his report card and a letter from his teacher! What's worse, he has gotten THREE D's!!! He might as well pack his bags and go to South Africa, like Joshua T. Bates was planning to do (ha! Text-to-text connection!) While Hank is trying to think of a way out of this situation, his DAD and NOT his Papa Pete come to pick him and his friends up from school. This is not good and unexpected! He was hoping to talk to Papa Pete and get some advice for how to handle this situation.

They all go to The Crunchy Pickle, and it's there that things get REALLY interesting (and funny!) Hank's mom discovers that report cards are due out and asks Hank for his. Hank pretends to look in his bookbag, and passes his report card off to one of his friends. The report card gets passed around like an unwanted Christmas fruitcake until Robert, a small, geeky kid, sticks the whole darned thing into a MEAT GRINDER! There it gets ripped into shreds and added to a soy salami mix that Hank's mother was working on. She was hoping that a local grocery store owner would like her new soy salami and want to buy some, but when Papa Pete takes one look at the nasty glop in the bowl (complete now with bits of report card) he says they should start over again. Hank is relieved because, at least for the weekend, he's gotten away with not having to produce his report card. He's sure something will occur to him to help fix the situation by Monday.

That is, he's sure until dinner on Friday night when his mom tells him that she secretly put her OLD batch of soy salami-the one with ground up D's and a crabby teacher letter-into the fridge and was planning to give THAT to the grocery store owner, Mr. G. Hank nearly chokes on his dinner and has a heart attack. HOW is he going to fix THIS problem?! You can't eat soy salami with report card in it! (heck, Hank thinks you can't eat soy salami WITHOUT paper in it, either!) How is he going to fix this problem?

Well, he's going to "fix" it in typical Hank Zipzer fashion, of course!! That is, he's going to come up with an incredibly complicated plan that has a very good chance of going completely and utterly WRONG (think of all the trouble he had getting his Niagra Falls project to work and all the trouble THAT caused!).

DOES his plan go haywire? Well, yeah-it would almost HAVE to, wouldn't it? It wouldn't be a Hank Zipzer novel if it didn't! but what exactly happens I won't tell you other than it involves a great big dog, chess pieces, Cheerio, soy salami and, eventually redemption.

What I like about Hank is how realistic he is and how almost all of us have a lil' bit of Hank in us (some, like me, moreso than others). Hank isn't a bad kid; he's not mean or a jerk (that's a job for Nick "The Tick" McKelty), but he's so easily distracted and scatterbrained that it's easy for his imagination and impulses to get completely away from him. Anyone who has learning challenges or has had difficulty concentrating in school or in meetings can certainly identify with Hank.

1)In my book there is about a boy who cant spell very well but he wants to win the spelling Bee. Because The winner gets an A in spelling. His friend Asely won the spelling bee. Then he ends up with all D's in school. When they go to his mom's Deli his other friend put it in the meet grinder. Then the next day they took it to a very important buyer. So read the book and find out what happens.

2)I think this is an Exilent book Because it is very funny. Also because of the sispens you never know what is going to happen next.

3) There is some irony in my book because he sutdy's hard for the spelling bee but he misspells his first word.

4)I gave this book a five star rating becasue it was a wounder ful book. Also it is funny.

My son struggled to read, we had troubles finding books that interest him. He is on the last book the zippety zinger and has read all the other ones and just loves them all. Thanks Henry Winkler for the wonderful work that you have done. I recommend these books to all kids...

These books are fantastic! As a mother with a child who has significant learning difficulties, these books have been my saving grace. It was a fight every night to get my son to read. He could never relate to any of the stories; most at his reading level are too babyish and those that aren't were too hard for him to follow. These books are perfect becuase they are fun. He can relate to Hank and therefore has fun following the story. I wish that I could thank Mr. Winkler for this wonderful character. My son can see that just because you have a hard time learning does not mean that you are not smart and funny and able to have friends. What a wonderful life lesson! I had given up hope that my son would enjoy reading. He has even discussed the books with us after he is done reading, something he had never done before. I highly recommend these books for all kids. The stories are well written and funny. Hank has many great adventures and all have a great lesson to pass on.

This is another amazingly funny book by Henry Winkler! It's the end of the school year, and Hank is in trouble again. It's report card day, which is Hank's most dreaded day of the year. As Ms. Adolf is passing out the report cards, she hands Hank a large brown envelope along with his report card. What was this? No one else in the class received one. Hank learns that the envelope contains a letter to his parents about his three "D's" on his report card! Hank is scared of what his parents will do to him! After school Hank and his friends go to his mom's deli, The Crunchy Pickle. Mom knows it's report card day, and is asking Hank to get it for her. Hank tries to keep his mom from his bookbag. Het get the envelope and passes it off to Frankie, who passes off to Ashley, who passes it off to Robert, who throws it in the meat grinder. The four of them watch as the report card and letter are ground into soy salami. Hank thinks he is out of trouble, until the salami is being made for a very important customer. How will Hank keep the customer from eating his "D's"? This is a fantastic book especially for students who can relate to Hank's troubles in school. I would recommend this book to a friend who likes to laugh non-stop.

This is another amazingly funny book by Henry Winkler! It's the end of the school year, and Hank is in trouble again. It's report card day, which is Hank's most dreaded day of the year. As Ms. Adolf is passing out the report cards, she hands Hank a large brown envelope along with his report card. What was this? No one else in the class received one. Hank learns that the envelope contains a letter to his parents about his three "D's" on his report card! Hank is scared of what his parents will do to him! After school Hank and his friends go to his mom's deli, The Crunchy Pickle. Mom knows it's report card day, and is asking Hank to get it for her. Hank tries to keep his mom from his bookbag. Het get the envelope and passes it off to Frankie, who passes off to Ashley, who passes it off to Robert, who throws it in the meat grinder. The four of them watch as the report card and letter are ground into soy salami. Hank thinks he is out of trouble, until the salami is being made for a very important customer. How will Hank keep the customer from eating his "D's"? This is a fantastic book especially for students who can relate to Hank's troubles in school. I would recommend this book to a friend who likes to laugh non-stop.

i love hank.this is without a doubt one of the best books i have ever read.if you enjoy laughing this would be a book for you.

It's the end of the school year and Hank Zipzer is back in trouble again. Not only did he get three D's on his report card, he managed to get the whole report card mixed into a sample batch of his mother's soy salami. Oh me, oh my, what a pickle for Hank and for his mother's deli The Crunch Pickle. At first Hank does not think this is such a bad thing because he believes the batch of Salami is bound for the garbage can, but then he discovers it is heading to a tasting for an owner of a grocery chain. Salami full of report card cannot taste very good. He has to do something but does not know what.

In this book Hank is diagnosed with learning challenges. He also admits it to himself and others. It is also the beginning of a plan to develop strategies to help him overcome his disability. This is another great adventure for the Zipzer, and will be for you and your children also.

Hank Zipzer Books:

1. Niagara Falls, or Does It?
2. I Got a "D" in Salami
3. Day of the Iguana
4. My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard
5. The Night I Flunked My Field Trip
6. Holy Enchilada!
7. Help! Somebody Get me out of Fourth Grade!
8. Summer School? What Genius thought That Up?
9. Zippety Zinger
10. My Dog's a Scaredy-Cat: A Halloween Tail
11. The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Went Down
12. Barfing in the Backseat: How I Survived My Family Road Trip
13. Who Ordered This Baby? Definitely Not Me!
14. Life of Me
15. A Tail of Two Tails