The Word Eater [Hardcover]

Mary Amato (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Lerner Chanse, a new student at Cleveland Park Middle School, finds a worm that magically makes things disappear, and she hopes it will help her fit in, or get revenge, at her hated school.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first novel may hold some appeal for bookworms, but a multitude of subplots proves distracting and weakens the tension. There are two basic story lines. The first revolves around a newborn worm named Fip, whose appetite runs to words rather than dirt. The second centers on sixth-grader Lerner Chase, recentlyAand unhappilyAtransplanted from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C. Lerner discovers Fip and realizes that every time he eats a word, the object it signifies disappears forever. The results of Fip's consumption can be pleasant (Fip eats a vending machine number and unleashes free chocolate bars) or dire (Fip eats the name of a newly charted star, sending its discoverer into a crisis). These developments occasion secondary story lines (e.g., about a sinister tycoon who employs thumb tacks and child labor to train the vicious dogs he sells as "Attackaterriers"). Amato plausibly sketches Lerner's evolving sense of responsibility about Fip's powers, including her panic when he almost eats the word "oxygen" and the name of her teacher Mr. Droan (but ends up devouring the words "Markus Droan's suit" instead.) The classroom dynamics between the ruling elite, Most Powerful Ones on Earth (MPOOEs), and the outcasts, Sorry Losers Under Ground (SLUGs), are believable enough, but with the exception of Lerner, most characters emerge as caricatures or types. Ages 8-12. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-The book opens with the turn of a page on the Bookworm's Desk Calendar, heralding the birth of a seemingly ordinary worm. But this is no common creature, for readers soon learn that he has a voracious appetite for the written word. It is sixth-grade Lerner Chanse who discovers that when Fip eats a word, that object disappears-forever. Lerner is having a hard time finding her place in her new school. She doesn't want any part of the MPOOE club (Most Powerful Ones on Earth), nor does she want to belong to the only other group-the SLUGS (Sorry Losers Under Ground). In a series of clever, if far-fetched events, she daringly uses Fip's power to turn the tide on the MPOOEs. Tongue-in-cheek wordplay in the quote on the desk calendar that opens each chapter prepares readers for the outlandish series of happenings to come.
Doris Gebel, Northport-East Northport Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082341468X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823414680
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,118,861 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?