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47th out of 104 books
—
460 voters
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
by
Nan Marino (Goodreads Author)
"Muscle Man McGinty is asquirrelly runt,a lying snake, and a pitiful excuse for a ten-year old......the problem is that no one knows it but me. In the entire town of Massapequa Park, only I can see him for what he really is. A phony.
It's the summer of 1969, and things are not only changing in Tamara's little Long Island town, but in the world. Perhaps Tamara could stand to...more
It's the summer of 1969, and things are not only changing in Tamara's little Long Island town, but in the world. Perhaps Tamara could stand to...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
May 12th 2009
by Roaring Brook Press
(first published May 1st 2009)
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After finishing this, I read a review talking about how refreshing it was to read a story as told from the perspective of a bully.
I think we read different books.
While I suppose the bully angle sort of makes sense, it doesn’t work for me. To me, Tamara (the narrator) was a bratty loner no one likes (or really pays attention to) rather than a bully. Bullies command attention. Bullies invoke fear. Bullies are not mocked by all of the neighborhood kids and treated as a joke. Anyway, the plot: Tamar...more
I think we read different books.
While I suppose the bully angle sort of makes sense, it doesn’t work for me. To me, Tamara (the narrator) was a bratty loner no one likes (or really pays attention to) rather than a bully. Bullies command attention. Bullies invoke fear. Bullies are not mocked by all of the neighborhood kids and treated as a joke. Anyway, the plot: Tamar...more
From the title I expected a story about an older person: Muscle Man McGinty - I expected a grown up not a scrawny, scrapping 10 year old. The story is told from the point of view of Tamara who lives on Ramble street in a small town in New York. Tamara's friends from the neighborhood have formed a kickball club complete with their own governing committee. Tamara's family is eccentric to say the least and they always seem to be on the outside looking in at neighbors parties and other events. Tamar...more
For once you can see why a main character is so annoying. Tammy hates her new next-door neighbor because he has taken the place in foster care of what had been her best friend. Everything revolves around her hurts and needs (so what if her friend and her friend's mom have to go into hiding because of the father?), which is fairly typical for an adolescent. But her parents seem to be the same. Her mother is only involved in her soap operas and her father uses his job, which he seems to hate, as a...more
It's the summer of 1969, and Tamara Simpson is missing her BF and confidant, Kebsie who up and moved away. She was living in foster care with Mrs. Kutchner, Tamara's neighbor, until a few days ago. Who moved in, but Muscle Man McGinty, who stretches the truth and tells whoppers every chance he gets...like Neil Armstrong is his uncle, like he sang on broadway, like he can beat the whole kickball team single-handedly. Yet, he is a schmoozer and usually gets his way and has the whole neighborhood l...more
I was fortunate to receive a copy of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle And Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino from Roaring Brook Press. This is a sweet, funny story set in upstate New York just before the moon landing, focusing on a group of neighborhood children who have their own hierarchy and rules. Tammy, the narrator, can't stand the newcomer to the neighborhood, a scrawny boy she mockingly dubs "Muscle Man." He tells outrageous lies, the most recent of which is that Neil Armstron...more
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Every once in a while—how far apart is impossible to predict—a character in a novel will come who is unique, and special, and somehow digs deep into a person's heart and mind to make a permanent home there. This is the case with Muscle Man McGinty. I can't really even put my finger on why I found him to be so endearing; it's one of those visceral things that just is, that one doesn't question, because its reality is so certain.
In my view, this entire book flows from the character of Muscle Man...more
In my view, this entire book flows from the character of Muscle Man...more
Excellent historical fiction for middle-grade readers. Set in the summer of 1969, the story follows Tamara, whose best friend has unexpectedly moved away, only to be replaced by a boy who manages to get away with telling outrageous lies and winning everyone else's friendship. The emotional story of their unlikely friendship is a surprise. Just who is the bad guy here? Well, nobody. A fast-moving, thoughtful, and often humorous look into the friendship and family dynamics of a small-town neighbor...more
Someone I was discussing this book with remarked that it perfectly captured the voice of a 10-year-old girl, and I think that's its best and most noticeable quality. This novel captures the summer in 1969 when 10-year-old Tamara is devastated by the loss of her best friend and decides to take some of her grief out on the new foster kid who's taken moved into the old friend's home, who she's nicknamed Muscle Man McGinty. With the sense of justice of a 10-year-old, Tammy is always hoping others in...more
Tammy, the narrator of this book, is exactly the same age as me--we were both 10 years old in 1969 when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. This kept me interested as the author gets lots of details about this time in the U.S. exactly right. However, Tammy is a really unpleasant kid and it is hard to feel sympathy for her as you read the book. She is angry that her best friend has moved from a foster-care home in her neighborhood and is determined to dislike the boy who moved in to replace her. M...more
So you know how everyone's buzzing about When You Reach Me? I'm going to go out on a limb here and brace myself on the inevitable tar-and-feather treatment that I'm expecting as a response to this statement.
I liked this book better.
Both books have a lot of similar features. Both books have amazingly beautiful yet efficient writing, where words are not wasted. Both are works of historical fiction (this one takes place in 1969). In both stories, the main characters learn some lessons about friends...more
I liked this book better.
Both books have a lot of similar features. Both books have amazingly beautiful yet efficient writing, where words are not wasted. Both are works of historical fiction (this one takes place in 1969). In both stories, the main characters learn some lessons about friends...more
It's the summer of '69, but we're not talking Woodstock--we're talking kickball, Neil Armstrong, and the ice cream man. Our narrator, Tamara, has just finished the fifth grade. She's unhappy because her best friend has suddenly moved away and in her place a runty, mendacious boy nicknamed Muscle Man has moved in. Sadly, she takes her frustration out on poor Muscle Man, who smiles through all her bullying like a love-hungry puppy who doesn't know any better.
I think we're used to hearing stories...more
I think we're used to hearing stories...more
The voice of Tamara Simpson, the first-person narrator, is distinct and original. Tamara is a feisty character troubled by the loss of her best friend Kebsie. Kebsie has suddenly moved away with her birth mother, and Douglas McGinty appears to have taken Kebsie's spot as Mrs. Kutchner's new foster child. "Muscle Man McGinty" tells lie after lie, and Tamara can not believe that these lies go unnoticed by everyone around. Her earnest disbelief is part of what makes her so childlike and painfully a...more
Sep 05, 2009
Staci
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Staci by:
Roaring Brook Press
Shelves:
2009-reads
What did you like most about this book? The time period was a favorite element in this book. I love the late 60's and the innocence that seemed to still exist. During the summer all of the neighborhood kids would get all worked when the heard the ice-cream truck coming. They would play endless games of kickball, and have special meetings to decide quarrels. I also really liked Douglas, AKA Muscle Man McGinty. He's a sweet soul who is a foster kid, but all Tamara knows is that her best friend Keb...more
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It’s summer, so all the kids are out of school and running around the neighborhood. Their days are filled with kickball and ice cream. Unfortunately Tammy just isn’t happy. Her best friend moved away and a boy has moved into her old house. Tammy nicknames him “Muscle Man” and hates hearing all his lies; even worse, no one else, even the adults, calls Muscle Man out on the lies. As summer stretches on and the realities of Vietnam hit home, things change even more for Tammy and the neighborhood. T...more
The title is long but the book is short. This is a slice of life from 1969 New Jersey, told from the point of view of a literal-minded girl named Tammy who just can't stand that her best friend is gone and and in her place (fostered by the same woman) is a little runt who tells huge whoppers. That this boy (Douglas, but known by Tammy's sarcastic nickname Muscle Man) must have a sad story to be in foster care, and that he is pretty darn nice guy despite his lies, doesn't occur to Tammy; she is u...more
It's the summer of 1969 and the whole world is waiting to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon. Tamara is gritting her teeth and dealing with Douglas "Muscle Man" McGinty, the wimpy new foster kid who's replaced Tamara's best friend Kebsie down the street. He thinks he's so great, but Tamara can see straight through his lies. He's not training for the Olympics. And Neil Armstrong is not his uncle, no matter what the wormy kid says. Why can't Muscle Man go away and send Kebsie ba...more
This one took me back to the summers of my childhood. Tamara feels abandoned when her best friend Kebsie abruptly moves away. The odd kid out in the neighborhood gang, Tamara takes out her hurt on the kid who now occupies Kebsie's house, a skinny, brash, sunny kid who Tamara calls "Muscle Man". MM has a habit of telling whoppers that drives Tamara crazy. Worse, she seems to be the only one cheezed off by this kid--for some reason, the rest of the neighborhood gang lets his "stories' slide. Every...more
When I read the synopsis of this book I wasn't really sure what I was getting into, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the fact that this book is historical fiction from the 1960's and combats issues of things happening during that time period but also with issues that kids, no matter the time face. The 10 year old Tammy who is telling us the story gives us life from her quirky perspective and with all of her childish reasoning you have no reason to doubt her. The book took on is...more
This is a great story about first impressions, rash judgments, second chances and unusual friendships. Tamara Simpson is a truly believable character - she misses her best friend who moved away without telling her, has a strained relationship with her parents and chooses to call them by their first names, wants to spend more time with her older brother who is away at college, and yearns to blow the cover off of Muscle Man McGinty's (the new kid on the block) constant lies/fabrications.
There are...more
There are...more
Tamara Simpson is having a rough summer. Her best friend, Kebsie, was a foster child living with the woman across the street and she’s moved back in with her mother. A new boy, Douglas, has moved in – Tamara calls him Muscle Man because he’s so scrawny. Tamara resents Muscle Man because he’s taken Kebsie’s place and he tells lies that no one else seems to notice. Among other things, he claims to be training for the Olympic swimming team and says that Neil Armstrong is his uncle. When he challeng...more
Tammy has just finished the fifth grade, and a long summer of kickball games and ice cream stretches out before her. In her suburban community, the war in Vietnam seems very far away, even though her college-age brother's best friend is off fighting. Tammy's biggest problem is that her best friend has moved away, and Muscle Man McGinty, the biggest liar she's ever met, has moved in. She's determined to expose him, no matter what anyone says.
The events of the summer of 1969 form the background of...more
The events of the summer of 1969 form the background of...more
Nice story that took me home to my childhood neighborhood. It struck close to home in lots of ways, particularly my family life, and sometimes I don't like going back there, even as an adult, so I would prefer a children's book that is more fun and upbeat and provides a bit of an escape. I think as a child this book would have been very sad to read. Is it too much to expect elementary school kids to be able to see the life from a grown up perspective. I think it is another way to ask them to be...more
Get ready to travel back in time to 1969 with this book. Things are changing slowly Ramble Street as the world gets ready to watch Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon. For the kids on Ramble Street, nothing comes in the way of a good kickball game–unless it is the lies told by Muscle Man McGinty. Tamara has had enough of his lies and thinks she might finally prove her point when Muscle Man claims he can beat the the other kids on the block all by himself. Somehow, though, things don’t...more
December's Teachers as Readers selection. Like 2 of the 3 others that we have read this year, this one takes place during the era of my childhood. (60s/70s). I wonder if it will resonate with today's child. (historical fiction, I suppose). Tamara, the 10 year old narrator, is angry that her neighbor and best friend (a foster child, we later find out) moves away without a forwarding address and a boastful boy (another foster child) moves in. Tamara is determined to make life difficult for the new...more
This is a great book for kids who want to read about other “regular” kids. I related to Tamara’s slightly grumpy portrayal of the everyday events of an average 10-year old. She’s quite ordinary, nothing exceptional or tragic unless you count the tragedy of a best friend moving away and the greater tragedy of that perfect friend being replaced by a far from perfect BOY! Tamara can’t stand listening to “Muscle Man McGinty’s” ridiculous lies, why do the other kids in the neighborhood like him so mu...more
No tags are being allowed for some reason this week. This should be jFIC and Friendship.
Tamara calls the new boy Muscle Man McGinty because he claims he can do just about anything. His uncle is Neil Armstrong, about to walk on the moon. Muscle Man once trained for the Olympics. He can lick the entire block of kids at kick ball. Tamara can't understand why others don't see that he is lying, and if they do, they don't seem to care. She never asks herself why he's living in a foster home. She doesn...more
Tamara calls the new boy Muscle Man McGinty because he claims he can do just about anything. His uncle is Neil Armstrong, about to walk on the moon. Muscle Man once trained for the Olympics. He can lick the entire block of kids at kick ball. Tamara can't understand why others don't see that he is lying, and if they do, they don't seem to care. She never asks herself why he's living in a foster home. She doesn...more
I really liked this book. It takes place in 1969, which is when I grew up, so maybe that's why I enjoyed it. Tamara is the main character who is living in New York. Her best friend (who was in a foster home), suddenly moves out of her foster home with no explanation. Douglas moves in and everyone loves him and his stories. Tammy can see right through all his stories (lies) and wonders why everyone likes him if he lies so much. We go on to learn why Douglas is in the foster home and learn a bit a...more
I read this aloud to my third grade class. It's set in 1959 so there's references to Neil Armstrong landing on the moon and an 18-yr-old boy from the neighborhood dying in Vietnam. That part was really sad . . . I had to back tears. The whole time the neighborhood kids are playing a huge game of kickball, and it reminded me of that movie The Sand Lot. I thought it would be neat for my kids to hear a book set in that time era for them to see how the 'good ole' days were.' Unfortunately, they didn...more
A quick, enjoyable read. Protagonist is sometimes likable, sometimes exasperating! Definitely feel empathy for her though. And for Muscle Man too for that matter. I remember how intensely I felt about friendship when I was that age (11) and so I can identify with her feelings of loss since her friend moved away. And hence her automatic resentment toward the new inhabitant of that house. Vivid portrait of a neighborhood in 1969, where kickball rules, the ice cream truck still comes by, the shadow...more
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