The Wimp [Hardcover]

Kathy Caple (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Poor Arnold, the class wimp, is being picked on by the meanest bullies in school. When the bullies begin to pick on his sister, too, he finds a few tricks up his sleeves that surprise everyone, even himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Arnold the piglet finds himself beset by bullies, even his big sister, Rose, is unable to help him. He shouts, "Get lost!" as she'd suggested, but Clyde and Watson still grab his homework and tear it up; when Rose herself tells them to back off, she and Arnold end up getting blamed for Clyde and Watson's swinish pranks. The next day, Arnold and Rose, now equally cowed, walk to school early in an attempt to avoid their tormentors. As it turns out, Clyde and Watson are already there-and Arnold figures out a nonviolent way of hoisting them by their own petard. Caple's (The Biggest Nose; The Purse) expressive watercolors portray Arnold's dilemma in a gently humorous, reassuring light; she is especially skilled at painting his reactions, which range from pop-eyed fright to grim determination to a sort of dreamy resignation. But while she introduces Arnold's problem through believable and easily recognized incidents, her tidy resolution will disappoint readers hoping for insights into dealing with schoolyard tyrants. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-When Arnold is tormented by Clyde and Watson, his older sister Rose stands up for him: "'It's all a matter of knowing how to talk to them,'" she claims. These bullies are not so easily intimidated, however, and after maneuvering Rose and Arnold into taking the rap for a spray-painted wall, the nefarious duo plan to trap them in something worse. Hoping to avoid trouble, Rose and Arnold arrive at school an hour early-and find their nemeses up on the roof, covering the wall with grafitti. Arnold quietly carries their ladder away, leaving them for the principal to catch red-(and green-) handed. "'It's all just a matter of knowing how to talk to them,'" he assures his admiring sister. Like Anthony Browne in Willy the Wimp (Knopf, 1985), Caple offers readers not so much a plan of action as satisfying wish fulfillment. Her spacious, simply inked and colored scenes feature expressive pigs in human dress; the minimalist text recalls James Marshall's droll narrative style.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (September 26, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395631157
• ISBN-13: 978-0395631157
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,178,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wimp, April 10, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Wimp (Hardcover)

This book is about Arnold. These two bullies by the name of Clyde and Watson always follow Arnold everywhere. So after school they took his homework and rip it into teeny pieces. So his sister by the name of Rose taught him how to defend himself. This book is teaching other kids how to defend theyself. I like this book.