| Booktalk
#1
Nick has a lot of changes going
on in his life. All he wants to do is make the 6th grade basketball
team. Well, actually everyone makes the team. Nick wants to
be a starter. It looks doubtful though as Carson is a much better
player. So why does Nick also have to come to terms with a new family?
His mother has passed away and his dad has remarried. Mariam is nice
enough but she isn't his mother. And, she serves the family health
food like tofu and stuff that looks as bad as it tastes. And of course
there's Dwayne. He's Nick's new step brother. He just happens
to be an 8 year old dork. Everyone can see that. Nick is so
embarrassed to be related to Dwayne. How will this all work out?
And why does Nick now smell like ham?
Booktalk #2
"It's true. I had spent my whole life wishing for a brother.
But I'd imagined a three-day-old baby that Mom and Dad brought home from
the hospital--one that Mom had given birth to. She died two years
ago. Dad clearly had some other baby in mind. Then it hit me.
'Dwayne.' I whispered the name like it was a disease, but I knew
in my gut that Dwayne Mitchell, Dwayne-the-Dweeb Mitchell, was about to
be my stepbrother." (pg 6)
When Nick Kimble's father re-marries, Nick not only gets a new mom, but
a built-in little brother as well. First and foremost on Nick's mind,
is making the basketball team at his school. He's hungry for the
chance to practice, but little brother Dwayne always seems to be in the
way. It's not enough that Dwayne is a total geek whose room resembles
a science lab full of strange plants, but Dwayne's mom (alias Nick's new
step-mom) has some weird ideas about food and things like clove shampoo,
which Nick thinks makes him smell like ham. Nick tries to distance
himself from both Dwayne and his new step-mom, but disaster strikes one
night when Dwayne runs away. Will Nick come to the rescue?
Does he make the basketball team? Will he ever have a normal family
life again? I Smell Like Ham answers all these questions and more
with humor, adventure, and one boy's new-found appreciation of family and
little brothers. (Cerese Long,
cclong2001@yahoo.com,
White Knoll Middle School, West Columbia, S.C.)
Booktalk #2
Promises. Why did I ever promise
my mom right before she died that I would be a basketball star? My first
basketball practice started out great. I wanted so much convince the coach
that I was good enough to be a point guard. I couldn't believe it when
the coach said, “Nick, You take point guard spot.” I thought to myself
that this is great. I started dribbling, when out of nowhere came this
guy called Carson Jones. He stole the ball from me and easily scored two
points. The second and third time Carson stole it, I didn't bother
to look. I stared at the floor while my cheeks burned, but I heard the
laughter. This is just one of my many worries. My name is Nick and everyday
when I get home from school, my dad ask me the same silly question, “What
did you learn in school today?” I wish I could wave a magic wand and zap
myself into another family. Not because I never learn anything, but because
I never learn the stuff Dad likes (page 1). I don't even feel like I can
talk to my dad since my mom died. My problems went from bad to worse when
my dad told me that I was about to get my wish. What wish I thought? My
dad doesn't even remember what I want for breakfast. Then I remembered
that I had always wanted a baby brother. I had forgotten about this wish
when my mom died. When he told me that Dwayne Mitchell was going to be
my new stepbrother, I thought that I was going to die. Dwayne-the-Dweeb
Mitchell was the nerdiest kid in third grade, maybe even the whole world.
Two weeks later, my dad marries Dwayne’s mom. I’ve learned a lot since
then. 1. Weddings are overrated. 2. Too much wedding cake is almost as
bad as too many Gummi Bears. 3. Dwayne’s mother is a better cook than my
dad. 4. My bedroom door won't lock (page 7). I wish Dwayne-the-Deeb
would quit making me a laughing stock in front of my buddies and stop butting
into my life. Find out how Nick tries to make the basketball team and fulfill
his promise to his mom of being a basketball star. Join Nick as he adjusts
to his new family and discover why Nick feels like, I Smell Like Ham by
Betty Hicks. (Becky Proctor, jonseyreeves@aol.com, School librarian
at Dorchester Academy, St. George, SC) |
