The Word Eater [Paperback]

Mary Amato (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2001

Life is miserable for sixth grader Lerner Chanse at her new school. It looks like Lerner is destined to be a SLUG (Sorry Losers Under Ground) until she finds a magical worm that eats printed words instead of dirt. If Flip eats a word, that item simply disappears from the world-forever. Now that Lerner knows about Flip's magic. she has some big decisions to make. Should she eliminate crime? Or will destroying anything cause effects that she can't imagine or predict? Lerner discovers that extraordinary power brings extraordinary responsibility...but will she learn her lesson too late?

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439342511
• ISBN-13: 978-0439342513
• ASIN: 0439343607
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,633,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Amato is an award-winning children's book author, poet, playwright, and songwriter. Her books have been translated into foreign languages, optioned for television, produced onstage, and nominated for the children's choice awards in many states.www.maryamato.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Word Eater: Easily Digested, August 12, 2000

By 

William D. Cahill (Merced, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Word Eater (Hardcover)

The Word Eater ties together several subplots with the main story: a young girl discovering that incredible power (but destructive power only) has been granted her in the form of a worm named Fip. The book reads on two levels, as does most good children's literature: the child's story, and the moral dilemma confronting Lerner Chanse. There's enough humor here to keep kids happily going, and enough depth to cause older (or more perceptive ones) to think. The names and the sideplots are funny and engaging.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Word Eater--a good book!, April 6, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Word Eater (Hardcover)

The story is about a worm named Fip. Born with a love for eating words, he is abandoned by the Lumbricus Clan. An equally outcast girl named Lerner Chanse discovers the worm on a dare to join the MPOOE (Most Powerful Ones On Earth) Club. She soon learns that whatever words Fip eats will disappear. This is good for erasing the "attacka" out of the vicious Attackaterrier dogs and the meanness of Lerner's next-door neighbor's dad. But after her neighbor Bobby Nitz becomes her friend and helps her stop the MPOOE Club from deleting the school with Fip, the consequences of Fip's powers show through. There seems to be no way to delete his power...until he meets an unusual worm named Poly. This book is VERY, VERY funny. Especially when Fip nearly eats "oxygen" and Lerner searches the dictionary for "oxyg". One question: Is there really such a thing as a gurkengabel?

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Word Eater-you'll eat it up!, September 17, 2000

By 

Lawrence Eiser (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Word Eater (Hardcover)

Mary Amato takes the text of 3 different stories (Fip the worms birth, Lerner Canse's problems at school, and a facory filled with under paid children) and puts them together. This is the story about a girl named Lerner who discovers a magical worm named Fip. If Fip eats a word, that word dissapears of the face of the earth-forever! Lerner learns more and more about Fip. The more she learns, the more the book gets interesting. The book has a unique text style that always keeps the reader thinking: what's going to happen next?