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42nd out of 156 books
—
224 voters
Loser
Just like other kids, Zinkoff rides his bike, hopes for snow days, and wants to be like his dad when he grows up. But Zinkoff also raises his hand with all the wrong answers, trips over his own feet, and falls down with laughter over a word like "Jabip."
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyon...more
Other kids have their own word to describe him, but Zinkoff is too busy to hear it. He doesn't know he's not like everyon...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
July 29th 2003
by HarperCollins
(first published May 1st 2002)
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This is just totally excellent and beautiful. Donald Zinkoff is a really special kid. He doesn't "get" other kids, really, but most of the time he has so much fun with his life that it doesn't really matter. He laughs so hard at words that he thinks are funny that he falls out of his chair and can't breathe. On the first day of every school year, he wants to know how many days of school are left until he graduates from highschool -- not because he can't wait to get out, but because he luxuriates...more
Do we ever relise what really makes a person a loser or a geek. well i don't know about everyone but i know that i have judged before i even knew what that person was all about. Sometimes the biggest loser in your class can be your best friend. I mean we all try to be what other people want us to be instead of being faithfull to outselves. When it get's to that point we don't think of it as changing we think of it as a life style. that what this book is about seeing that when you change yourself...more
With a name like LOSER, I really expected to hate this book and feel sorry for the main character throughout the entire story.
The story is written with an omniscient narrator, and even though the plot could focus on the kids that teased Zinkoff, it focuses on Zinkoff's positive attitudes despite his peers, instead.
My favorite chapter was about Zinkoff's day shadowing his father in his job as a mailman. He was so happy to get to deliver the mail... it was so cute!
I'm reading this book with my a...more
The story is written with an omniscient narrator, and even though the plot could focus on the kids that teased Zinkoff, it focuses on Zinkoff's positive attitudes despite his peers, instead.
My favorite chapter was about Zinkoff's day shadowing his father in his job as a mailman. He was so happy to get to deliver the mail... it was so cute!
I'm reading this book with my a...more
I was in the in the 5th or 6th grade when I decided to read this book and read it in one day. I had friends that recommended me this book and told me that the story was great and I should read it too. So I did, but came up with nothing. Not that the book was entirely terrible, but I just could not see what everyone else did. Although I read it in a matter of hours, I did not enjoy one bit of the book. For the most part, I didn't really care. No I am not heartless, but this story had no aim. The...more
Mar 06, 2008
Colleen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
kids, parents, educators
Shelves:
juv-literature
I saw this book in the Scholastic book magazine and did not select it for reading due to the perceived angst I might feel over some mean kids and pitiful character that is bullied. I have a big aversion to the nasty use of "you're a loser" as I feel everyone has something special to contribute. Those that use "loser" to define another are the losers themselves as they are breeding ground for nastiness, exclusion, anger, hate, and hopelessness.
However, my son was assigned the book to read at scho...more
However, my son was assigned the book to read at scho...more
Jan 04, 2009
Uriel
added it
this book talks about a boy named zinkoff but his whole name is Donald Zinkoff. he has a hat thats a giraffe that he wore in the class and you could relize that his favorite animal . But he only focuses on his life from the first through sixth grades. Zinkoff is usually the last person picked for the athletic teams, his flute consistently hits the wrong note during concerts, and he is occasoinally too eager at the wrong times. first grade is when zinkoff is introduced to school. He loves it, ev...more
This book was like a memory of me in Elementary School and that’s what kept me reading this book. I have to say my favorite character was Zinkoff, which is the main character in the story. He was my favorite because he didn’t care if he was doing wrong stuff, or far from normal, he just finished it and made a good out of everything. I wouldn’t say there was a character I didn’t like because he didn’t have a problem with what anyone thought. My emotions towards this book would be memorable and s...more
People often say that being different is a good thing. Is it really good though? Especially in the society we live in today. People get made fun of for acting a certain way, looking a certain way, and being a certain way they had no control over. This book however, shows you that it's okay to be different. It's okay to just be yourself.
Loser by Jerry Spinelli talks about Donald Zinkoff, a young boy, growing up. It focuses on Zinkoff going to first grade all the way up to sixth grade. He is cons...more
Loser by Jerry Spinelli talks about Donald Zinkoff, a young boy, growing up. It focuses on Zinkoff going to first grade all the way up to sixth grade. He is cons...more
Loser is an interesting book, about the life of a boy named Donald Zinkoff, an unusual kid that seems to live in his own world. The book goes from his first grade life to his sixth, all of which seem to have him as an odd, average student.
What makes the character so endearing is that how he dwells in his own oddity. He loves going to school, he wants to become a mailman after his own father, being bad at sports, and an odd happy demeanor. Despite not having any friends, maybe this is what makes...more
What makes the character so endearing is that how he dwells in his own oddity. He loves going to school, he wants to become a mailman after his own father, being bad at sports, and an odd happy demeanor. Despite not having any friends, maybe this is what makes...more
Attention: spoiler Alert! Brandon Park
Do you know how sad and depressing if you hear “loser” from your friends. In the story “Loser”, there is a kid named Zinkoff. He is on the first year of his elementary school, and the first day of school. But Zinkoff had a hard time on his first day of school. He messed up on his first day of school. He knows that he will fail and lose what ever he do, so he starts to make him self down. He doesn’t try and give up any thing that he thinks that he’s going to...more
Do you know how sad and depressing if you hear “loser” from your friends. In the story “Loser”, there is a kid named Zinkoff. He is on the first year of his elementary school, and the first day of school. But Zinkoff had a hard time on his first day of school. He messed up on his first day of school. He knows that he will fail and lose what ever he do, so he starts to make him self down. He doesn’t try and give up any thing that he thinks that he’s going to...more
Just started this book yesterday, and today couldn't stop reading until I'd finished it. Part of that is that it's just an easy, short read (218 pages) but more importantly, Jerry Spinelli has again crafted a character so unique, likeable, and vivid that you don't want to lose sight of him for a minute. In a way, Donald Zinkoff is the antithesis of Spinelli's characters from "Maniac Magee" and "Stargirl"; he is "special" in the "special ed" sense. He is awkward, slow, and doesn't always underst...more
Zinkoff can’t write. He’s no good at sports. He laughs too easily. Worse, his laughter spills out of control. He’s clumsy and he doesn’t have a best friend. Zinkoff, in short, is what the other kids unpiteously call a loser.
In his middle-grade fiction, Loser, Jerry Spinelli turns his characteristic acuity to disturbing and poignant facets of childhood experience. Children’s cruelty to their peers, their bullying, their superficial judgments of others, their vulnerabilities are all exposed to Sp...more
In his middle-grade fiction, Loser, Jerry Spinelli turns his characteristic acuity to disturbing and poignant facets of childhood experience. Children’s cruelty to their peers, their bullying, their superficial judgments of others, their vulnerabilities are all exposed to Sp...more
I first read this book when I was about 9 or 10 years old and loved every minute of it. It was one my favorite books! My teacher recommended that our class read this book. We had an issue with name calling in the classroom, and this story was something every one of us could connect with. This novel follows Zinkoff’s everyday life from Kindergarten through the 1st grade. Zinkoff is the main character of the book; the other kids in his class see him as strange, but he does not care. He gets made f...more
Zinkoff is the type of person who likes to mess around in class and on the first day of school Zinkoff took a giraffe hat and he wasnt allowed to take it to school .Zinkoff loved to talk alot so almost every day of the school year he would get in trouble.Like when he took his giraffe hat the teacher told him to take it off and to put in his cubby when it was resses he went back inside to get his hat and when he went outside someone took his hat and started to threw his hat as if they were playin...more
This book is about a young boy who goes by his last name Zinkoff. Zinkoff is very different from the kids in his class. He is loud, energetic, rambucious, and always in the back of the classroom. The kids think he is funny sometimes because he yells out in class. They like to laugh at the things he does, but none of them are really friends with him. Zinkoff loves to run. He runs down his street, he runs at recess, but no one ever wants to run with him. No one ever really wants to do anything wit...more
This book follows Donald Zinkoff through kindergarten through first grade.
I really like this book. It is so simple and yet it makes me think about who I was when I was the same age as the narrator and who I am now. When I was younger I had a lot of qualities that Zinkoff did and was most certainly always picked last for kickball. (I remember that it was like baseball but with a soccer ball and I had no coordination.)
The book is not about the smartest, fastest, most accomplished person in the sma...more
I really like this book. It is so simple and yet it makes me think about who I was when I was the same age as the narrator and who I am now. When I was younger I had a lot of qualities that Zinkoff did and was most certainly always picked last for kickball. (I remember that it was like baseball but with a soccer ball and I had no coordination.)
The book is not about the smartest, fastest, most accomplished person in the sma...more
Loser book review:
Michaila Paulateer
This book was a really good book, it was not one of the best books I read but it was good. Loser is about a boy whose name is Donald Zinkoff. It starts out how Donald is a very slow, clumsy, and energetic boy and where his life takes him from first grade to middle school. Like in the beginning he is racing dogs but he is so focused on trying to beat the cars next to him that he always loses. As he goes to school he wears this giraffe hat that is like a foot t...more
Michaila Paulateer
This book was a really good book, it was not one of the best books I read but it was good. Loser is about a boy whose name is Donald Zinkoff. It starts out how Donald is a very slow, clumsy, and energetic boy and where his life takes him from first grade to middle school. Like in the beginning he is racing dogs but he is so focused on trying to beat the cars next to him that he always loses. As he goes to school he wears this giraffe hat that is like a foot t...more
This book was very much like Star girl in themes. It addresses a child growing up "different" from everyone else. He is more sincere, he cares about people, he is bad at sports and school, but he has a passion for life. The novel explores child politics --> human psychology in stratifying from even a very young age. It talks about the power of a good teacher and about people living on the periferal of life (small children and old people - (an old man waiting for his brother to come back from...more
The book i read was loser by jerry spinelli. it was published May,1,2002. An award that this book got was the childrens book award in 2004. This book is such a great book. I explains so much about childhood life. This book is about a kid named david zinkoff and he is an odd kid doesnt care what he says or does hes himself. People see his as weird. Hes clumsy and messy. Doesnt do very well in school but loves going. He wants to be just like his dad when he gets older.Davis is the main character i...more
What can i say Loser is a really funny novelty for younger ages but it brought the young soul in me. It has to be like the funniest book i have read. It was like going back into my childhood and remembering all the adventures i had as a small child. It talks about how a strange yet smart little boy grows up and struggles with everything that crosses his path. The thing i like most about this book is that they mention that he starts playing soccer at a young age [like i did as a small child] and...more
If you like funny books then you should read loser, by Jerry Spinelli. The setting in this book is in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The main character in this book is Donald Zinkoff. When Donald grows up he wants to be a mailman, just like his father. He asked his dad if he can got to take your kid to work day, he said no. So his dad said you can come with me tomorrow on take Donald to school day. just like his father. Donald is in second grade. The problem in this book is when he can not write corr...more
Intial reaction is the book was disappointing. I read this after reading Schooled by Korman which also was very dissappointing so that could have affected my reaction to this book.
Frist off this book is a character study and I perfer books with plot. The book also like Schooled is about a character who is above the negative opinions of his classmates. In fact like Schooled Don Zinkoff seems is clueless that he is being teased.
Loser is slightly better than Schooled in that the teasing is not as...more
Frist off this book is a character study and I perfer books with plot. The book also like Schooled is about a character who is above the negative opinions of his classmates. In fact like Schooled Don Zinkoff seems is clueless that he is being teased.
Loser is slightly better than Schooled in that the teasing is not as...more
This book was five starts right up until the end — if you can call it an end.
The narrator follows the story of a young boy from first grade through sixth. Donald Zinkoff has mental and physical challenges, which makes him unlike other kids in class. Yet his naivety blinds him to the fact that he is different or that he seldom has friends.
Zinkoff's enthusiasm is heart-warming, and the way that Spinelli tells of his growing up, one grade at a time, is moving. I cared deeply for Zinkoff. I wasn't s...more
The narrator follows the story of a young boy from first grade through sixth. Donald Zinkoff has mental and physical challenges, which makes him unlike other kids in class. Yet his naivety blinds him to the fact that he is different or that he seldom has friends.
Zinkoff's enthusiasm is heart-warming, and the way that Spinelli tells of his growing up, one grade at a time, is moving. I cared deeply for Zinkoff. I wasn't s...more
I really am enjoying this book. It's about this boy Zinkoff and what it takes fo him to get trough elementary school. His reall name is Donald Zinkoff but everyone calls him Zinkoff. The boob started on the first day of first grade for Zinkoff. He wore his giraffe hat that his dad got him at the zoo the first day. When he got into the classroom his teacher took his hat to his cubbie. The teacher asked him what his name was and proudly said Zinkoff! The teacher had to look the other way because s...more
Loser by Jerry Spinelli I have read twice. This shows you just how much I have enjoyed it: I enjoyed it so much I gave it five stars and also read it twice. It's not very adventurous of a story, but exciting and unknowingly emotional. If parents read it, I can tell you in the beginning they will think of their child. They will think of their child, like Zinkoff or not, as Donald Zinkoff. How they were small buds, just beginning to grow. Where their large eyes take in everything the world has to...more
I remember reading this book for the first time in middle school, when a friend recommended it to me. At the time, i thought the book was horrible. I didn't understand the strength of the word "loser" nor did i understand the power of any other word. More importantly, i didn't understand the concept of disabilities-- whether intellectual, physical or clinically diagnosed. In Loser, it is never directly stated that Donald Zinkoff, the main character, has a disability. However, there is plenty of...more
Loser is about one boy, Zinkoff. He is 6 years old when the book begins. He just starts to go school and he loves his school. And he lives a normal life. He becomes a 6th grader and he goes to a new school. He is just a normal boy. Actually, he is nobody. However, one snowy night, he starts to look for a girl.
While reading this book, I made a text-to-world connection. This book shows a Zinkoff losing his innocence when he grows up. This seems natural in the world. Many students are naïve when th...more
While reading this book, I made a text-to-world connection. This book shows a Zinkoff losing his innocence when he grows up. This seems natural in the world. Many students are naïve when th...more
Loser is about a kid named Donald Zinkoff who is a very extraordinary kid. I say this because he loves to do wierd things and loves to laugh. In the book he faces challenges because kids pick on him and he doesnt really have alot of friends at the begining of the book. In the middle of the book he learns alot about how school isnt all fun and games when he starts to get in trouble more because he laughs so much in class. In the end of the book he starts getting more friendly with people and star...more
Donald Zinkoff, aka "Loser" to his classmates is bullied and taunted by teachers and kids. He is clumsy, slow to answer questions, and friendless, yet his exuberance and joy for life is unwavering. His loving family supports and admires him for his quirkiness and loyalty.
We follow Donald from 1st grade through middle school and as the years go on his invisibility to classmates grows and grows. He befriends a little neighborhood girl, Claudia who goes missing from her home one snowy night. His d...more
We follow Donald from 1st grade through middle school and as the years go on his invisibility to classmates grows and grows. He befriends a little neighborhood girl, Claudia who goes missing from her home one snowy night. His d...more
Dec 30, 2009
Anna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all kids, but especially sixth graders
I liked this so much more than I thought I would! I'm so glad I finally sat down and read it. I sort of had to, you see, because I gave my sixth graders this book to read over winter break and, um, yeah, I'm not exactly proud of this, but when I gave the assignment I hadn't even read the book yet! I had tried, twice, to read it and ended up abandoning it both times. The large font sort of annoyed me and although I liked the first couple of pages, the next few weren't great (and were kind of conf...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: Children's/YA boy has no friends at school [s] | 6 | 41 | Jan 17, 2013 06:02am | |
| Can Parental Support eliminate/ameliorate bullying? | 1 | 1 | Jan 13, 2013 06:44am | |
| Loser book | 1 | 16 | Dec 21, 2011 10:40am | |
| i love this book. | 9 | 47 | Nov 07, 2011 07:24am |
When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. Lucky for us he became a writer instead.
He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his...more
More about Jerry Spinelli...
He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his...more
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“Best friends are always together, always whispering and laughing and running, always at each other's house, having dinner, sleeping over. They are practically adopted by each other's parents. You can't pry them apart.”
—
53 people liked it
“Because that's what you do, you stand up for your best friend. And you eat lunch with him and talk with him and share secrets and laugh a lot and go places and do stuff, and when you wake up in the morning, he's the first person you think of.”
—
49 people liked it
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Aug 14, 2012 07:19pm