Yo-Yo Man

by Daniel Pinkwater, Jack E. Davis (Illustrator)

It is the first day of school. The first day of third grade. Between Mrs. Mousetrap's miserable spelling tests and the arm-twisting antics of smelly, candy-sucking Richard Newton, it's already looking ugly. Then comes recess—and The World Yo-yo Champion appears with his awesome King Tut Royal Egyptian Yo-yo. Even Richard Newton is in awe. With bobbing, humming, sparkling speed, Daniel Pinkwater and Jack E. Davis draw us into a dizzyingly satisfying tale of yo-yo success.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, School, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Phil J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweeter and more straight-forward than I expected. My kids loved it. They especially liked how handsome the yo-yo man was.

It's interesting that I look at the yo-yo man and think, wow, this guy travels around shilling yo-yos for a living, sad, but my kids totally thought he was a superhero. They saw no irony in this book. Pinkwater has said in interviews that he writes unironically, which is hard to believe sometimes, but at times like this it is clear that he is channelling dream logic and childhood wish-fulfillment.

[Miriam Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know it has to happen. Pinkwater has written so many books, so many of them so so so good.

We disliked this book for two reasons - 1. Easy moral tale, and 2. Ridiculously busy illustrations. Please keep in mind our #1 Pinkwater picture book is “Devil in the Drain” - this is like the polar opposite.

We won’t be reading anymore of the more recent kids books of his, as much as we hoped to complete the canon. Oh well.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy is not looking forward to the first day of school. He's unsure of his teacher and doesn't want to endure the teasing of the class bully. But one day a yo-yo genius comes to school and the boy decides that he's going to wow his classmates by becoming the best yo-yo-ist in school. And the best speller.

[Dale Bentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story with lots of up and downs, of course. The author spins a tale of a young yo-yo afficianado that excels at tricks and spelling to boot. Nicely illustrated by Jack E. Davis.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book shows that we can change our lives as we set and work towards goals.

[Danielle Mootz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids loved the Yo-Yo man and outdoing the bully!

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this story two stars largely because I felt that the bully situation was generally left unattended and unresolved. Certainly, things turned out better for the main character, but I wanted something done with the bully aside from him turning out not to be talented with yo-yos. That doesn't do it for me. I don't see how that solves that problem by the end. For whatever reason, Richard Newton is still bullying without reprimand and that's just not enough, even if the main character does get a gold plated yo-yo for a lot of hard work and practice.

[Sandra Vicars · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is starting third grade. The bully, Richard Newton twists his arm and sits behind him playing with his ears. Mrs Mousetrap, the teacher, gives math tests and lots of spelling words. During recess, Ramon, the World Yo-Yo Champion, entertains the kids with his yo-yo expertise. He issues a challenge to all the students to master the tricks in his book. I was a little disappointed that the main character did not help the bully when he was struggling with learning to the yo yo tricks.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrid book. Aimed at older children (third grade, I think?) with a weird premise and a super unsatisfying story. Creepy guy comes to a playground to advertise for a local toy store -- advertisement works and children become obsessed with latest fad. Practicing his yo-yo somehow makes him impervious to bullying, and then he wins a contest. It's just dumb. I only checked it out because we were learning about the letter Y, and that's a hard one to find books about.

[Alia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great kinetic illustrations but the text is a classic case of telling rather than showing. I'm still not sure how learning yo-yo tricks helped the narrator with his school problems. And what kind of school is this that lets some strange old guy hangout on the playground and sell kids yo-yos?

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cutely illustrated book about starting Year 3, being bullied, yo-yos and spelling lists. Of course it shows how easy a yo-yo craze is to start. The illustrations are a bit Where's Wally? at one stage, but are fun. We like seeing the bully get foiled by our rather dorky looking hero.

[Jamie Burns · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think this book was very good. I liked the colors used in the book, but I didn't care for the story. The bully only left him alone after he learned yo-yo tricks. It didn't really make sense to me.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son thought this book was so great he wanted to give it 10 stars.

[Meadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, like always, a yo-yo saves the day. Really, there is nothing a little yo-yo-ing can't solve.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third grade improves dramatically for a boy after he makes up his mind to win the upcoming yo-yo tournament.
www.hcpl.net

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third grade is hard with Mrs. Mousetrap's spelling and math tests and bully Richard picking on him. How will he survive? Possibly by becoming a yo-yo and spelling champ!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations really ruined this book for me. Pinkwater books have a certain "look" and this wasn't it.

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Notes:
I dislike all books about bullies but this one is absurd; boy learns to yo-yo and the bully leaves him alone???

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third grade improves dramatically for a boy after he makes up his mind to win the upcoming yo-yo tournament.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little story about a third-grade boy working hard to learn the yo-yo (and how to spell) so he can win the yo-yo tournament.

Great illustrations.

[Lynne Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A different slant on bullying in school

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it