Nerd No More (Hardcover)

by Kristine L. Franklin (Author), John Ward (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Wiggie Carter is a nerd, and he wants to be cool. This shopworn premise is smothered right off the bat by a pile of equally tired stereotypes. Among them: Wiggie wears thick glasses. His mother is a scientist with her own educational TV show. He has a brilliant younger brother who blows things up on the kitchen floor. All the kids in Wiggie's sixth grade harass him and call him "Bowel Boy" (his mother uses the word "bowels" in a TV lecture on parasites), and the teacher never says a word. Wiggie decides to mousse his hair and put green glitter on top of that, but it doesn't make him popular until he sneezes on a girl and gets "glitter boogers" on her. As expected, the clueless adults are no help; it's a wise friend, Callie, who teaches Wiggie that it might be okay to be smart. There's not enough pizzazz here to be enticing nor enough freshness to be funny. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?Wiggie has always done well in school and gotten along with his teachers, but he wasn't always the class nerd. When his mother becomes the host of an educational science TV show and uses the word bowel on the air, however, Wiggie becomes Bowel Boy. Callie, the new girl in class and his only friend, suggests he work on his image. So one day he becomes Ludwig van Beethoven Carter (his real name) in formal attire. Next he tries being Lud (it rhymes with blood), wearing a dog collar and spiking his hair with gel and glitter. That doesn't work either, but when he sneezes on Callie and laughs about it, he is suddenly "in" with the boys. Although Callie is upset, Wiggie tries to enjoy his new popularity. In a satisfying conclusion, he ends up with a broken arm and many friends (including Callie). This realistic contemporary story told from Wiggie's point of view is humorous and fast paced. His search for an image acceptable to the boys with whom he longs to be friends is truthful and understandable. Wiggie's mistakes are genuine, and readers can't help but empathize with him.?Elisabeth Palmer Abarbanel, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (September 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564026744
• ISBN-13: 978-1564026743
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,527,548 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Nerd No More, May 17, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Nerd No More (School & Library Binding)

This book is about a boy named Wiggy V. Carter his mom is a host for Jump into Science. When is mom is on the t.v while he is in class his classmates pick on his just because his mom is on the t.v talking about science. His friends quit being his friends, but later on they became friends again. They went on a field trip and Wiggy's mom came on the trip and the boys became his friends again, but they had changed their ways and started doing stuff that they thought was cool. And something happens to Wiggy and his friends.... Read and you will see. i liked this book a lot it was a really GREAT kids book out of all of the other kids books that i have read.

The author that has wrote this book called "Nerd No More" This author is a good writer any other books that shes has written i would read just becaus this book was so good.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nerd No More, November 23, 2003

A Kid's Review

Nerd no more By: Kristine L. Franklin
Nichole Miller
Hula
Period: 6/7
11/23/03
Wiggie V. Carter is a boy that was popular in 5th grade because his mom is a science freak and got a new job and is a host at JUMP INTO SCIENCE. So now everyone calls him names and draws mean pictures about him. So he makes a new image so he could be popular and get his best friend back from the new kid Eddie. Read the story and find out more about him. It takes place at Wiggie School and is a fiction book. The story is a great book next time you go to the library check it out.

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, May 19, 2002

By	Matthew Gunia (Justice, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Nerd No More (Paperback)

This book deals with an aspect of junior high that everyone experiences: bullying. We can all think back to our grade school days and remember that one person who, for one reason or another, was picked on and could do no right in the eyes of the other class members. In this book, the main character, Ludwig von Beethoven Carter (poor guy), is that guy from grade school who was a normal, accepted kid who got good grades. However, he becomes the guy in the class who is picked on when his mother becomes the star of a silly, educational science show for kids. In order to regain his popularity, Wiggy Carter keeps trying to change his image in order to be accepted by the "cool," trouble-making kids.

While one looks at the title and cover of the book, he thinks that this is going to be a book written just for the amusment of the young reader. However, I was happily surprised to see that this book deals with a lot of peer pressure issues and social issues that junior high students struggle with every day. I highly recommend it to help put things in perspective for students. They have to go through "drama" in the classroom every day and this book can really help them to look at the "queen bee" as well as the "nerd" in a new light.