Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
6th out of 20 books
—
3 voters
Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything
Ronald "Cheesie" Mack is not a genius or anything, but he remembers everything that happened before, during, and after fifth-grade graduation, and he's written it all down in his own unique and hilarious way—with lots of lists, drawings, and splenderful (that's splendid plus wonderful!) made-up words.
Cheesie's story is about more than just his boring graduation ceremony an...more
Cheesie's story is about more than just his boring graduation ceremony an...more
Hardcover, 230 pages
Published
March 22nd 2011
by Random House
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
247)
I came across this book because it was written by the father of one of my favorite authors, Julia Quinn. Talent most definitely runs in the Cotler family!
I shared this book with my seven year old son, and we both really enjoyed it. As a mom, one of the things I liked a lot was the fine balance that the author struck between the antics of 11 year old boys and really strong ethics. Cheesie proudly declares he doesn't lie and he doesn't cheat, and yet manages to enjoy the splash of a chocolate pudd...more
I shared this book with my seven year old son, and we both really enjoyed it. As a mom, one of the things I liked a lot was the fine balance that the author struck between the antics of 11 year old boys and really strong ethics. Cheesie proudly declares he doesn't lie and he doesn't cheat, and yet manages to enjoy the splash of a chocolate pudd...more
Okay, first of all, I have to disagree...I think Cheesie Mack IS a genius! I say this with humor, because Cheesie Mack sounds like no other almost-eleven-year-old I've ever come across. But then again, I haven't been around kids this young since I was that age, so what do I know. *lol*
With that being said, the format the author took with the book to me, as an adult, was aggravating. I wanted to get to the story. I simply wanted to read about this mysterious envelope, heart necklace and old, old...more
With that being said, the format the author took with the book to me, as an adult, was aggravating. I wanted to get to the story. I simply wanted to read about this mysterious envelope, heart necklace and old, old...more
view 1 comment
Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything is the first book in a new series by author/performer Steve Cotler. (The second book is due out in June, 2012). The story is “written” by Ronald Mack, a fifth grader whose friends call him Cheesie.
The story happens in the last few days of fifth grade. Cheesie’s best friend, Georgie, has a gazillion wonderful ideas about how they could make their fifth grade graduation ceremony less boring. Cheesie doesn’t think they will actually commit to any of Georgie’...more
The story happens in the last few days of fifth grade. Cheesie’s best friend, Georgie, has a gazillion wonderful ideas about how they could make their fifth grade graduation ceremony less boring. Cheesie doesn’t think they will actually commit to any of Georgie’...more
Being a fifth grade boy means being thwarted at every turn. Cheesie and his friend Georgie have the BEST ideas for summer, but keep getting shot down. They can't pull their awesome pranks at fifth grade graduation. Then, Georgie can't go to summer camp because his father loses his job. When the boys find an envelope from the 1950s in the basement, they try to locate the owner to return the penny and necklace within it, but are stopped by a policeman who thinks they are just fooling around. The b...more
I am always looking for a new book series to recommend to boys who read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, so I decided to try this one out. It is the story of "Cheesie" Mack who just graduated from 5th grade. He has an older sister who is constantly fighting with him. His best friend Georgie lives right behind him. They have a lot going on, such as a crisis about summer camp and something they find in Georgie's basement.
While it maybe wasn't as fun to read as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it was still a cute book....more
While it maybe wasn't as fun to read as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it was still a cute book....more
This is a cute little middle-grade book about an 11-year-old kid named Ronald "Cheesie" Mack, and what happens to him in the couple days around his 5th grade graduation. It involves his best friend, Georgie, his family, and a vampire. Maybe. Okay, maybe not.
Anyway, it's a funny little book with lots of really great information and vocabulary, actually. The writing style was very contemporary, with hand-drawn pictures, interjections of explanations and funny bits by the author, and invitations to...more
Anyway, it's a funny little book with lots of really great information and vocabulary, actually. The writing style was very contemporary, with hand-drawn pictures, interjections of explanations and funny bits by the author, and invitations to...more
Ronald "Cheesie" Mack and his friend Georgie are finishing up the final days of the school year and looking forward to graduation and the party afterward. After that comes their time together at camp, a tradition for the two friends...which comes to a halt when Georgie's father announces that there is no money for him to attend. As a loyal friend, Cheesie announces that, if his friend won't go, neither will he. So, bummer summer....
And perhaps it would have ended there had Georgie not located an...more
And perhaps it would have ended there had Georgie not located an...more
While I may not be the target audience for this book, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I read the entire book, start to finish, in one sitting, and can hardly wait for another Cheesie Mack book to come out. It reminded me of some of the books I read in elementary school, like Fudge and Super Fudge, by Judy Blume, or Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary. It really felt like it was really written by a ten-going-on-eleven-year-old kid, and he sort of felt like he could have been someone I knew...more
Okay, but:
1)I can't believe a kid in Gloucester, MA barely seems to know what Plymouth Rock is, and hasn't been there on a school field trip!
2)Predictable, predictable,predictable.
3)Endless "visit my website" is one step from putting advertisements throughout the book.
This is being compared to "Wimpy Kid", but I think it's like all those books being pitched as "just like Harry Potter" for years--there are some minor similarities, but that's about it. And a lot fewer pictures.
Adequate boy stuff,...more
1)I can't believe a kid in Gloucester, MA barely seems to know what Plymouth Rock is, and hasn't been there on a school field trip!
2)Predictable, predictable,predictable.
3)Endless "visit my website" is one step from putting advertisements throughout the book.
This is being compared to "Wimpy Kid", but I think it's like all those books being pitched as "just like Harry Potter" for years--there are some minor similarities, but that's about it. And a lot fewer pictures.
Adequate boy stuff,...more
The eleven-year old boy who lives inside me liked this more than the rest of me. My grown-up self grew annoyed with the web site references, but I think fifth-graders would be all over that. When I was in fifth grade, I started collecting coins and liked to play gross-out, two elements of Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything. I no longer collect coins.
When I was midstream, I thought the narrative was rambling a bit, but a fifth-grader might not worry as much about that. The ending came in f...more
When I was midstream, I thought the narrative was rambling a bit, but a fifth-grader might not worry as much about that. The ending came in f...more
As posted on Outside of a Dog:
Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything, but Steve Cotler just might be. I picked up the aforementioned Cheesie Mack based on a glowing review for its sequel Cheesie Mack is Cool in a Duel. I thought,“Hey, that sounds kind of nifty. And I do need to read more ‘boy’ books anyway.” So I tracked down the book (it had been mistakenly shelved in adult fiction), took it home and read it, nearly in one sitting. I don’t do that for many books. Even short books get put down...more
Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything, but Steve Cotler just might be. I picked up the aforementioned Cheesie Mack based on a glowing review for its sequel Cheesie Mack is Cool in a Duel. I thought,“Hey, that sounds kind of nifty. And I do need to read more ‘boy’ books anyway.” So I tracked down the book (it had been mistakenly shelved in adult fiction), took it home and read it, nearly in one sitting. I don’t do that for many books. Even short books get put down...more
I love Steve Cotler and this book was great. At first I was having a hard time getting in to it, but once I shed my adult persona and adopted that of a ten year old boy (or girl for that matter), I loved it!
I loved the family that was created here. Ronald and his sister, the Goon, were very believable siblings. Granpa (not misspelled) added humor and fun. j
This book is perfect for any reluctant and/or avid boy reader. I think girls would enjoy it too, but it is definitely full of boy mischief an...more
I loved the family that was created here. Ronald and his sister, the Goon, were very believable siblings. Granpa (not misspelled) added humor and fun. j
This book is perfect for any reluctant and/or avid boy reader. I think girls would enjoy it too, but it is definitely full of boy mischief an...more
I know there will be kids who like this book, but it annoyed me to no end. I cannot stand books filled with boring exposition, "and then he walked to the bed. Then he jumped on the bed. The the dog ..." ugggh. And the constant mentions of, visit my website, visit my website. Often, when I'm reading a book I don't like, it takes me weeks because I avoid it. But I read this one over two days because it is that simple and it was so annoying I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
A fun book. Cheesie and his best friend Georgie are quirky characters that create kid fun like planning to smuggle a dozen mice in for their fifth grade graduation, and investigating a lost envelope which just may belong to a vampire. I especially love Cheesie's made up words and the use of some awesome "big words" too. Cheesie also includes some puzzels and facts that are educational but fun too. Cheesie also has a website which ties in with the book that kids will love.
It took me a while to get into this. The repeated references to the Cheesie Mack website are really annoying, but part of that may be because I was reading this aloud, so I felt particularly like some kind of huckster, reading it to my kids. But then I thought: if a fifth grade boy wrote a book, and had a website, he would so totally mention it every five seconds. I did like the way it all wrapped up. There was a good "it's not always clear what the right thing to do" situation.
The characters are very good, as is the storyline, but I got really sick of Cheesie saying "visit my website." It seemed like there was an invitation to visit www.cheesiemack.com on every other page! Okay, I'll admit I did go to the website to find out the 4 coins that add up to 83 cents, and the website is just fine, but the frequent mentions irritated me and didn't really add to the story.
This book reminds me a lot of 'Diary of a wimpy kid.' The plot is a bit scattered with artwork sprinkled throughout. In 'Cheesie Mack,' the author adds lots of facts and information which makes it a little more educational than 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid.'. These stories are not my favorite but it's good to learn about more books to recommend to Jeff Kinney fans.
I surprised myself a bit because I did like this book even though it seems like another one of those "let's get boys into reading" books. Although the plot of the story is not all that deep, I like how Cheesie talks about writing and refers the reader to his website. He does it often enough that I went to it to check it out, and I loved it - looking at one thing led to another, and I also learned about his other books. One can only hope this book will have the same effect on other readers as we...more
I liked this book. It felt like it was one of the few YA books that we've read that was written only for middle-school readers with very little opportunity for older readers to dig any deeper into the story. Which is not to say it was bad at all, just a little thin for 30 year olds. On the other hand, it was the quickest read we've had for some time. We blew through this book.
The plot and tone of the book were terrific. We all enjoyed Cheesie and his point system against his sister Junie/Goon and his elaborate games with his best friend Georgie. Learning a bit about coin values was fun too. The constant references to visiting Cheesie's website were really annoying to me but not to my kids. I suppose for some this interactive feature is a plus but I wonder how well it will age.
This one grew on me...billed as a new series for Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans, I found the characters to develop as the story unfolded, and it finished stronger than it started. Cheesie is a good guy, and does the right thing, in a very kid like way. The friendship of Cheesie and Georgie is spot on and fun.
Kids in grades 3-5 might enjoy this story of a boy and his best friend and their exploits. Might work well for kids who like Andrew Clements or Gordon Korman or Dan Gutman school stories. I personally found the constant reminders to "go to my website" highly irritating, but it might make a nice hook for a teacher looking to hook technology and reading. I may suggest it as a read aloud to 3rd grade teachers as it will give them something to tie to the computers their kids are getting next year.
I loved Cheesie Mack. He was an engaging boy with a strong moral compass. He's also a lover of unusual words and an avid list keeper. That being said he wasn't above a few pranks that I could imagine any 11 year old boy would revel in -- many involving his older sister.
dis...join...t...ed.
not good for a struggling reader who needs to pull disjointed ideas together. whick is unfortunate bc its physical presentation looks like it might be just right. has some good new vocab. good story moral too.
not good for a struggling reader who needs to pull disjointed ideas together. whick is unfortunate bc its physical presentation looks like it might be just right. has some good new vocab. good story moral too.
Fun, fast, realistic fiction with a bit of a mystery and plenty of "hey, I do that!" relate-able goofy guy stuff. His endless comments of "go to my website and...." seemed a bit too much of self-promotion at times, but still, a fun read.
I loved this unique character! I also like the questions within the book that make you pause and think or visit the website for more information or answers to riddles. Topics: Massachusetts, friendship,coins and so much more!
This is going to be the book I recommend when the next kid comes to the library saying they like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". This has more muscle and more plot, but it's funny and boyish. Great pick for grades 4-7 or any reluctant middle school male.
A humorous book about a boy named Ronald, aka Cheesie, who finishes 5th grade and retells events leading up to his graduation. He has a sister, June, that he calls Goon who redefines sibling rivalry. Cheesie and his best friend, George, share many antics and fun adventures. This book will appeal to kids who like bathroom humor or just plain humorous books. There is a website as well, www.cheesiemack.com, that is referred to frequently in the book. Readers are encouraged to go to the website to s...more
If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you'll love reading the Cheesie Mack series. Great for a summer read! This is the first book in the series. The 2nd book is Cheesie Mack is Cool in a Duel.
A hilarious story that will appeal to Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans. Check out my full review at http://knightreader.wordpress.com/201....
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
