Customer Reviews

Tooter Pepperday (Stepping Stone, paper)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I started to read this book, I thought Tooter Pepperday was going to be another great character in the tradition of Ramona, Junie, and Clementine, all of whom I've grown to love reading about. But what draws readers to these characters is that they have redeeming qualities, and despite their foibles, they are likeable and have good hearts. They're what we would call "sympathetic characters."

I really did not find Tooter Pepperday to be a very sympathetic character and did not connect well with her. Tooter is very negative throughout most of the book, which the reader could kind of understand, with her having to leave everything she loves about her home in the city to move with her family to the country and live on her aunt's farm. However, Spinelli fails to make us empathize with her frustrations, just portraying her as angry, manipulative, and rude. Examples - handcuffing herself to the plumbing to keep from moving, telling her parents "You're going to regret this" after they remove her, giving her parents the silent treatment, insulting her aunt's farm, yelling that her brother is a brat, talking back to her parents, running away until intercepted by a neighbor, and hiding under her bed until her parents are frantic about their missing daughter. The parents don't seem very skilled at dealing with her either (very little authority), with her father readily admitting how much the silent treatment bothers him. Even in the illustrations, Tooter is scowling in almost every one

With Ramona, Junie, and Clementine, we are exposed to their inner conflict, seeing that their "misbehavior" is often caused by their frustration, fear, or misunderstanding of a situation. They're likeable characters who care about those around them and generally try to be respectful to others. Spinelli fails to show this with Tooter, and therefore the book largely fails. Late in the book, Spinelli tries to redeem Tooter's character somewhat, but by then it's pretty much too late - we haven't grown to like and care about her. I will include this book in my classroom library and I will read the sequel (which I also own), but I would not purchase more copies of it or recommend it to others. While I would not want my students to emulate Tooter, the book could be a good springboard to discussion about her behavior and about author's craft. This was a disappointment from renowned author, Jerry Spinelli.

This Stepping Stone book has 85 pages of fairly large print, with 19 of the pages having half- to full-page illustrations (some double-page spreads). The publisher listing of reading level on the back is RL 2.0

I would rate this book a 5 on a 1-10 scale (2 1/2 stars).

This is a very good book...err...it was when I was five...now I read it again and it's more than a little bland but I definitly recommend it along with the Junie B. Jones books for the littler kids. ;-)

Have you ever wanted to run away from home? Well, Tooter does - she hates the smell on the farm and will do anything to get away! Tooter won't talk to anybody because she doesn't want to live on Aunt Sally's farm. Aunt Sally likes the silent treatment, but it drives dad crrrraaaaazzzzy! Tooter thinks she's going to croak because there isn't any McDonald's.

I think it's a funny book, but my intent of reading the book was to put it in our school library, and I don't dare do that. Tooter starts out by handcuffing herself down so that she doesn't have to move with her family to her aunt's farm. Her dad lacks the parental authority to make her behave, but finally her mother wins by tickling her under the armpit. Then Tooter gives them the silent treatment. Fortunately her family ends up winning when she accidentally blurts out a rebuttal to her brother. Although these incidents are hilarious, the way they are presented makes it look like Tooter is in control of two weak parents. I just want to step in!

Once they are at the farm, Tooter continues to be defiant to authority. She refuses to "watch over" the egg that they are trying to hatch. She treats her parents disrespectfully and they just let it go. Eventually, the "new" Tooter that is starting to love the farm wins over the "old" Tooter, and that's how the book ends...a new Tooter. That part's OK: it's the first half that bugs me.

I liked this book because it contained funny stories. For example, Tooter handcuffs herself to the sink in protest over a move to a farm. She also walks around the farm with perfume to block out nasty smells. The end is heartwarming. I would recommend this book to people who like funny stories.

The Library Card is four short stories about kids who never thought they would ever be interested in reading until a "magical and mysterious" library card comes and takes these kids to the library and turns these lazy punks into inquiring minds. This is one of the best books I've ever read. I would recommend this book to anybody!