Nerd No More by Kristine L. Franklin, John Ward (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Wiggie Carter is a regular kid. Smart, but basically a lot like everyone else in the sixth grade--until his mom becomes the host of Jump Into Science, an educational TV show. Suddenly Wiggie is famous--a famous nerd. Even when Wiggie makes friends with Callie, an outcast by anyone's definition, the lure of being one of the cool kids remain overwhelming. It's not until the cool kids lead Wiggie into real trouble that he proves to himself, and everyone else, that being smart is cool--and that just being yourself is even better.

Publishers Weekly

Wiggie Carter is a nerd, and he wants to be cool. This shopworn premise is smothered right off the bat by a pile of equally tired stereotypes. Among them: Wiggie wears thick glasses. His mother is a scientist with her own educational TV show. He has a brilliant younger brother who blows things up on the kitchen floor. All the kids in Wiggie's sixth grade harass him and call him "Bowel Boy" (his mother uses the word "bowels" in a TV lecture on parasites), and the teacher never says a word. Wiggie decides to mousse his hair and put green glitter on top of that, but it doesn't make him popular until he sneezes on a girl and gets "glitter boogers" on her. As expected, the clueless adults are no help; it's a wise friend, Callie, who teaches Wiggie that it might be okay to be smart. There's not enough pizzazz here to be enticing nor enough freshness to be funny. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)

Children's Literature

Wiggie Carter was enjoying what he thought was life as a regular 6th grader, when tragedy occurred-and its all his mom's fault. He's not upset that she named him after Ludwig van Beethoven, or that he inherited her "smart" genes, or that she has a penchant for cooking really weird things that taste. But when she became the host of the local cable TV's science show, his new-found fame as the class nerd became unbearable. In his quest to be himself, Wiggie learns about friendship and responsibility to one's self. This is a humorous look at adolescence.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6Wiggie has always done well in school and gotten along with his teachers, but he wasn't always the class nerd. When his mother becomes the host of an educational science TV show and uses the word bowel on the air, however, Wiggie becomes Bowel Boy. Callie, the new girl in class and his only friend, suggests he work on his image. So one day he becomes Ludwig van Beethoven Carter (his real name) in formal attire. Next he tries being Lud (it rhymes with blood), wearing a dog collar and spiking his hair with gel and glitter. That doesn't work either, but when he sneezes on Callie and laughs about it, he is suddenly "in" with the boys. Although Callie is upset, Wiggie tries to enjoy his new popularity. In a satisfying conclusion, he ends up with a broken arm and many friends (including Callie). This realistic contemporary story told from Wiggie's point of view is humorous and fast paced. His search for an image acceptable to the boys with whom he longs to be friends is truthful and understandable. Wiggie's mistakes are genuine, and readers can't help but empathize with him.Elisabeth Palmer Abarbanel, Los Angeles Public Library

Product Details

• ISBN: 1564026744
  
• ISBN-13: 9781564026743
• Format: Hardcover, 144pp
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Pub. Date: September 1996
• Edition Description: 1st ed
• Edition Number: 1
• Age Range: 9 to 12