Author Index

Title Index

Reviewer: Erin F. '12

This book is about a boy named Donald Zinkoff who moves to a new town and goes to a new school. He is called a loser because he loses field day for his team. Well, the kids think he loses field day for them, but it is not all his fault. Donald takes a test where he needs to tell about himself, and he is doing great, until one question stumps him. He has to tell who his best friend is. He did not have anyone to write about. So he looks around the room, and recognizes Hector Binns who went to his old school. Donald goes up to him after the test and tells Hector that he wrote about him being his best friend. This makes Hector happy and they really do become friends.

I would recommend this book to people who like really good and fun books. I really enjoyed this book!

Spring 2005

Reviewer: Cori R. '12

I really enjoyed Loser. I love how Spinelli describes all of Zinkoff's movements. Zinkoff is such a strange kid, but yet he has such a vivid imagination. I felt as if I was Zinkoff sometimes. I think the only reason they call him "Loser" is because he loses color day for everyone. The story allows you to see a whole other side of an average person. It also shows how someone can be independent, and how he/she can see things differently. For instance, in Zinkoff's mind he has many friends, when in reality he does not.

I recommended this book to people who are up to a challenge, because this book is difficult to read at times and can be somewhat confusing.

Winter 2005

Reviewer: Michael G. '12

Loser by Jerry Spinelli is a wonderful book. It is about a clumsy boy named Donald Zinkoff and his life through elementary school. Everybody just calls Donald by his last name, Zinkoff. Zinkoff loves school. In first grade, Zinkoff's teacher tells the class they have 2160 days left in school until they graduate! From then on, Zinkoff begins counting down from 2160 until the last day. In fourth grade, Zinkoff is the anchor for his team in the relay race on Field Day. He loses the race for his team, putting the team dead last in the standings. Throughout the rest of elementary school and middle school, Zinkoff is branded with the name, "Loser." I loved Loser. I read 120 pages in one day!

Winter 2005

Reviewer: Michael P. '12

Loser is about a boy named Donald Zinkoff who is very clumsy, never listens to his parents, and does the most unheard of things. He even gets into trouble when he laughs too much. In other words, he's a real loser. The story follows Zinkoff's life from first through sixth grade. Find out if he can change the way people look at him. Will he ever fit in? I also can't wait for you to read the part about the
"snow."

If you like Maniac Magee, another great Spinelli book, you'll love reading Loser.

Fall 2004

Reviewer: Rahul K. '12

I guarantee Loser will encourage you to be a hero yourself. Zinkoff, the "loser" in the story has many obstacles to overcome in his life. Some of his problems are: no one likes him, he laughs at words such as "Jabip", he throws up whenever he eats something because of some abnormal "valve", he even trips over his own feet. One day, Zinkoff proves to everyone that even a boy who trips over his own feet can be a hero.

I recommend this book to everyone. It teaches a valuable lesson that people are capable of making big changes in their lives. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

Fall 2004

Spring 2004

Spring 2003

The book I read is called Loser by Jerry Spinelli. 

This book is about a boy named Ronald Zinkoff. But everyone calls him by his last name.  Zinkoff is always last in alphabetical order, line, races, and friends.  No one ever wants to be Zinkoff's friend. He's just a loser.

This book is mainly about Zinkoff going through his life during  mainly 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. There are also exciting parts in this book, but I don't want to give it away. I'll let you figure them out.

I recommend this book to people that enjoy reading about other people's lives. Maybe if you're really popular you might be able to see what other are treated like. I enjoyed the book, and if you read it I hope you will too.

Winter 2003

The book is about a boy named Donald Zinkoff, and the story is about his life to six grade.

He starts his first day of school in first grade. His teacher's name is Miss Meeks.  Zinkoff thinks that she is a really nice teacher, but she thinks he is really weird.  At the end of first grade he does not have any friends.

After second grade he still had no friends.

At the end of third grade he still had no friends.

In fourth grade he had field day and he was on Purple. In the final race the whole team said another kid should race last, but when the teacher came around he said that Zinkoff should race last.  When it was Zinkoff's turn he had a huge lead but when he tried to run he didn't go anywhere. After the race, his team came in dead last. That is how he got his nickname Loser.

After fourth and fifth he still had no friends.

One night when he was playing in the snow, he hears a little girl is missing, so he looks for her for seven hours.  She is found at 8:00 tops  when Zinkoff gets home he goes to bed for 13 hours. The next day it is an in-service day, and all the kids are playing on the fields. When kids are picking teams for a football game, Zinkoff is the last one left and everybody says, " You can't play the teams are even, but one kid picks him and he makes a friend.

I recommend this book to people who like interesting books about realistic things about kids.

Summer 2002

Loser, by Jerry Spinelli, is about a boy named Donald Zinkoff. Donald is not athletic, not very smart, and not very funny. He wonders why some kids don't like him. But when someone that does like him as a friend gets lost, he acts loyally and bravely and does what he has to do to save his friend. Soon after, kids start to see Donald's good qualities, and start to accept him as a friend too, and not as a "loser." 

I really liked this book for a few reasons. First, it was written by a great author. It also shows how you should not judge a person by first impression, and you should try to get to know them better. Finally, this book shows that everyone has good qualities, but might not always show them. 

Overall, this as a good book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes Jerry Spinelli

Summer 2002