Donutheart

by Sue Stauffacher

Book Overview

Franklin Delano Donuthead, star of Sue Stauffacher'sDonuthead, is back and life continues to throw him lots of curveballs: he's now in sixth grade which means it's time formiddle school, with all of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440420652
• ISBN13: 9780440420651
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 199 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Everyone's favorite assymetrical guy

Sue Stauffacher, a Michigan native to rival the likes of Lynne Rae Perkins, is a darling of librarians and teachers nationwide. Bursting onto the children's literary scene with the can't-recommend-it-enough, Donuthead, Stauffacher came out swinging and hasn't had a bum book to her name yet. All the more reason to feel nervous about sequels, then. In many a librarian's mind, "Donuthead", takes on a kind of global significance. It's the funny kids book that earns instant and unequivocal loyalty. So when I, personally, heard that there was going to be a sequel and that it was called Donutheart, I thrilled to the very core of my bones. I was also deeply frightened. If it wasn't as good as its predecessor, was I going to have to rethink my single-minded Stauffacher-love? Happily the answer is an emphatic, "nuh-uh". Admittedly, "Donutheart", doesn't have the heartwrenching punch of its predecessor. On the other hand, it's still one of the best danged children's books of this or any other year. Everyone's favorite sensitive, asymmetrical guy is back. Franklin Delano Donuthead is just as fixated on measuring his arms and legs every night, washing his hands three times to the tune of Happy Birthday, and calling up his favorite chief statistician at the Washington D.C. National Safety Department whenever he gets a chance. Because of earlier events, however, he is also the good friend and perpetual buddy of Sarah Kervick. Sarah has become particularly adept at figure skating and the two have worked out a system. Donuthead will keep her grades above a 2.0 and Sarah will protect him from bullies. Now, however, our extraordinarily stressed narrator has a whole new world to navigate. Middle school. From boys bathrooms to a teacher with an expectoration problem, Franklin is unprepared for this world of woes. But when Sarah starts hiding a problem from him and his mother, it's up to our hero to make the ultimate of sacrifices. He's going to ride a bus. Brace yourselves, everybody. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. In this book Stauffacher also has the chance to explore a fabulous character from an entirely new angle: Donuthead in love. It's a simultaneously horrific and fascinating idea. Franklin is just hitting puberty and he's found the girl of his dreams. The comic potential here is through the roof and you can bet your sweet bippy that Staufffacher makes the most of it. He may be wise beyond his years in some areas (morbid areas, as his mom might say), but Franklin is just like any other kid when it comes to making conversation with a girl. Of course, he's a bit more eloquent. Franklin has always spoken like a 45-year-old man, but that's neither here nor there. Some kids are just like that. It's Franklin's humor (and, by extension, Stauffacher's) that makes the book such a pleasant read. Here's Donuthead on football players: "They've been drinking hormone-laden milk since infancy". And consider the fate of Franklin and his mother's beau. When the fellow dating F