I Smell Like Ham (Single Titles) [Hardcover]

Betty Hicks (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Single Titles

Boys, basketball, barf -- the pefect middle grade novel! Nick wants to convince the coach that he's a point guard, get rid of Dwayne-the-dork, and stop missing his mother. But that's tough to do when he can't keep the ball way from Carson Jones, the dork is his stepbrother, the honor code's a joke, and he's been splattered with something worse-smelling than ham.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although the premise sounds a bit like a sitcom a sixth-grader with dreams of basketball glory learns to come to terms with his new blended family Hicks's first novel is both humorous and heartfelt. Nick Kimble is anything but thrilled when his widowed father remarries, especially when it means gaining a new stepbrother, a chess-playing third-grade geek named Dwayne (whom Nick promptly dubs "Duh-wayne"). Hicks handily juggles this knotty development with several other plotlines, including Nick's struggle to make the cut for the basketball team and navigate the shoals of peer pressure. In the end, Nick's nobler inclinations win out: when Dwayne runs away and Nick searches for him, Nick realizes that he's not the only one struggling to find his place in the new family structure. Hicks serves up snappy dialogue and plenty of laughs (including the title, which refers to some clove shampoo Nick's organic-loving stepmother buys for him). In describing one of his stepmother's meals, for instance, Nick notes, "We had a giant fungus on a bun that she said was a porta-something mushroom burger. Porta-potty stuck in my mind, but that wasn't it." Overall, this is a pleasing family tale in which the underlying tone of sweetness never slips into sap. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Nick has typical middle-school worries-his appearance, how to talk to girls, making the team, and peer pressure. As if that's not enough, add a clueless dad, a new stepmother with far-out ideas about just about everything (especially diet), and her geeky eight-year-old son, Dwayne, and you have the ingredients for a funny and appealing story. The title comes from an amusing situation in which Nick uses his stepmother's new clove shampoo, and to his great humiliation, everyone thinks he smells like ham. Effective dialogue advances the plot quickly, but the boy's inner monologue keeps readers thoroughly entertained with his honesty and humor. When Nick's dad asks his routine daily question: "What did you learn in school today?" Nick wants to tell him "I learned not to wash my hair with cloves," "never to be late for basketball practice." "I also learned that most of the sixth grade knows Dwayne's a dork-." But what he answers is, "I learned how to subtract decimals." Hicks has created a fast-paced, tightly constructed narrative that weaves together basketball, Arthurian lore, blended families, and adolescent angst.
Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761328572
• ISBN-13: 978-0761328575
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,936,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars S.E.G.A. 4TH GRADE BOOK CLUB, February 23, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: I Smell Like Ham (Single Titles) (Hardcover)

This is a good book with a lot of emotions. It is funny and sad. The two main characters are stepbrothers. We thought the book was sad because the older brother, Nick, doesn't accept Dwayne the younger brother, for who he is. Dwayne is smart, quiet, and shy.

It's exciting because you don't know what will happen next. The author keeps the story from being predictable. A lot of things happen. Nick tries to get on a basketball team, Dwayne smokes cigarettes and vomits on Nick, and eventually Dwayne runs away!

In the beginning of the story, Nick is mean because he is very different from Dwayne, but in the end, Nick appreciates Dwayne for his differences. It is a really good book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a really good book, July 1, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: I Smell Like Ham (Hardcover)

I thought this was a really good book. My favorite part was when Dwayne inhaled the cigarette and puked on Nick. I liked the ending better because it was more exciting than in the beginning. I would reccommend this book to anyone who is from the age of 8-12.