Everyone knows “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. It’s an international bestseller, right? Well, have you ever heard of “Big Nate”? If the answer is “yes”, then good for you! If the answer is “no, then read this book review...
To tell the truth, one of my favorite books is “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”! I have all the diaries... But I was wondering one day: are there any other books just like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”? I soon found out... Yes, “Big Nate” was my next book to be put on My Top 10 Favorite Books!
I know that everyone read “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. Everyone knows what’s happening in Greg’s life. Well, to tell the truth, Nate’s life is almost similar with Greg’s. Meet Nate Wright, the boy with the biggest head in the world! Nate doesn’t know a lot of things (like which are the seven wonders of the ancient world or something else like that – “When I get out there in the real world, is anybody going to care whether or not I know who was vice president under Warren G. Harding? (And don’t try to pretend that YOU know who it was, because you don’t.)”), but he knows one IMPORTANT thing: he is destined for greatness!
So you can get to know Nate better, I need to tell you these: he has a dad who cooks the worst meals ever (like rice cakes – disgusting!) and a completely annoying sister named Ellen. He also has two best friends, Francis and Teddy, some annoying classmates and a lot of horrible teachers!
Your question might be: how does Nate know that he is destined for greatness? That’s an excellent question and the excellent answer is: he read it in a fortune cookie. (“I guess you could say I’ve got a love-hate relationship with fortune cookies. I hardly ever get a good one, but I still can’t resist cracking ‘em open. “WOW!” Now THAT’S what I call a fortune. “Today you will surpass all others.”)
Nate is all excited with this fortune cookie. But the question is: why is he having such a bad day? It’s best if you read by yourself the story, but I am going to tell you what happened at each class...
Nate had Social Studies, English, Art, Lunchtime, Sport, Maths and Science at school. At each class or break he got... a detention! I’m really telling the truth! Like, how crazy is that?
To keep long story short, here is the list with the reason of detention at each class:
Social Studies: Mrs. Godfrey (Nate’s 100% unfavorite teacher) found Nate’s list with her nicknames (all of them made by Nate). (Example: Godzilla.) Reason for detention: Insolence. (“She looks at the list for a long time. Her face turns red, then white. I can see her jaw muscles working. I wait for her to start shouting, but for the longest time she doesn’t say a word. She just looks at me. That’s worse than shouting.”)
English: Ms. Clarke is teaching about poems. While Nate was writing a love poem to Jenny, his crush (who, by the way, is spending time with Artur, an annoying boy – curse it!), Gina shouted out loud: “Hey, Jenny! Looks like NATE’S writing you a LOVE POEM!” Nate got furious and shouted out loud, too: “GINA SHOULD KEEP HER BIG FAT MOUTH SHUT!!” Reason for detention: Being disruptive in class, insulting a classmate. (“Then I hear it. Nobody else does, but I do. Gina laughs. I shoot her a look. She’s leaning back in her chair. She’s got a nasty little smile on her face. Here I am looking like a fool in front of everyone – in front of JENNY – and Gina’s loving every minute. SHE made this happen. This is her fault. The blood is pounding in my head.”)
Art: An intelligent question: why is Artur’s drawing is in the spotlight? That’s absolutely-positively not fair!!! Nate is an art star! (But it looks like Mr. Rosa doesn’t know this thing yet...) He can’t let someone else to be in the spotlight!!! During the class, Nate gets out on the hall, trying to open the door of the display case. Making a lot of noise: a detention! Reason for detention: :( How artistic, right? (“Now I just have to pop open this door... and I’ll stick MY drawing right on top of Artur’s! HA! You’ve gotta be KIDDING me! It’s STUCK! I yank and yank, but nothing happens... UNTIL THE KNOB BREAKS OFF!! Holy cow, that was loud! Hope nobody... heard me.”)
Lunchtime: To surpass all others, you can eat hot dogs or pizzas in ten minutes! But not slimy green beans! Or you’re going to get in trouble with... PRINCIPAL NICHOLS!!! Reason for detention: Green bean incident. (“I start to talk, but this wad of beans in my mouth is cramping my style. I try to swallow it down, but I almost choke. It’s just too big. There’s only one thing to do. I lean over the table and, trying to be as casual as I can... I spit out the beans.”)
Sport: Remember: don’t wear the teacher’s shorts... or else!!! Reason for detention: No respect for teacher. (“Is this your idea of a JOKE, junior?” A joke? I have no idea what he means, but he looks like he’s about to rip my arm off. I shake my head, afraid to say the wrong thing. He slowly raises his hand and points at my shorts. I look at him, still baffled. Then I see it. A white “CJ” on Coach John’s tracksuit. I’m starting to get a very bad feeling. I look down at my shorts, and there it is: The same white “CJ”. “I’m wearing COACH JOHN’S SHORTS!!”)
Maths: Speaking of Maths, let’s make a calculation (you have to resolve it): (a pop quiz + some incorrect answers) : a fight with the teacher = ? The result: a detention! Reason for detention: (It doesn’t say in the story, but I think you can guess it.) (But Mr. Staples wants my quiz NOW. He pulls on the sheet hard. Suddenly I’m in a full-scale tug-of-war with my Maths teacher. And I just lost.”)
Science: One thing is for sure: you can’t surpass anyone at Science, especially if you have a teacher is stiff as a board... Reason for detention: (It doesn’t say in the story, but I think you can guess it.) (“What choice do I have? I shuffle to my desk, flop down into my chair, and stare straight ahead... at a tiny little dot on Mr. Galvin’s shirt. The dot gets bigger... and bigger... and BIGGER! My PEN! The cap must have come off inside his pocket! And here’s the funny part: He hasn’t even NOTICED! Yes, he has. He stares me down. “Do you find this AMUSING, Nate?” I know I should say no. Or at least try to keep a straight face. But something about that mondo ink stain on Mr. Galvin’s shirt is just... well... HILLARIOUS!! I try to hold it in. I really do. But I can’t. By the time I pull myself together, Mr. Galvin is handing me a pink slip for five hours of detention.”)
Like Nate says: “Maybe someday I’ll look back on this and laugh.”
You might say now: “Nate’s life stinks.”
Well, believe it or not, but those pink slips for detentions helped Nate...TO SURPASS ALL OTHERS!!! (“Mrs. Czerwicki looks a little stunned. She spreads out the slips on her desk like she’s playing Solitaire. She shakes her head. “Nate... You appear to have established a new record.” “Record?” I repeat. “What kind of record?” “Over the years, several students have received four detentions in a single day. A few have had five. One even got six. But NOBODY has EVER received SEVEN detention slips in one day. Until now.”) Crazy, right? :) I liked this book because it’s funny. I liked the beginning and the ending (“I can hardly believe my good fortune.”).
When I first read “Big Nate”, I was in the fifth grade. I don’t know why, but when I got now in the sixth grade, I read again the book. To my surprise, I had another feeling while I was reading the story. I felt like Nate. He is in the sixth grade. I am in the sixth grade. For a tiny little moment, I thought I was Nate Wright, not Teodora Leon (and still, I never got a detention... :D )...
Anyway, I can’t wait to read the next books! :)
Comments
Post a Comment