It only took the first paragraph of reading “PICKLE: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School” by Seattle author Kim Baker, before I was thinking: “Sweet cheeses! This is the funniest book I’ve read in a long time!”
“Pickle” tells the story of a group of middle graders and their prank club that masquerades as a pickle making operation. It includes a strong cast of characters that would appeal to boys and girls alike.
Louis Sachar’s “Wayside School” books get their jokes from farce. Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books have sustained scenes that in their entirety are hilarious (the “student of the month” bumper sticker from Cabin Fever comes to mind.)
“Pickle” has funny scenes too. But what Kim Baker really has going for her are one liners that come out of nowhere and are worthy of getting out a highlighter pen.
Seriously. I got out the highlighter pen.
I wish I was teaching fourth grade again just so I could read “Pickle” aloud to a bunch of 9-year-olds.
“Dude. You were going to the bathroom. This isn’t number two time, it’s show time,” (p163) I bet THAT particular line would have an entire classroom rolling on the ground with laughter.
My 7-year-old son loved this book too. In fact, he stayed up until 11 o’clock reading it from start to finish and was really crabby the next morning. He has also used his own money to purchase a gag kit.
So the next time I sit on fake vomit, I’ll have Kim Baker to blame.
Thanks a lot!
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