Charlie Bumpers vs. the End of the Year

by Bill Harley Narrated by Bill Harley

Overview

Charlie is cooking up some wacky plans to keep his friend Hector from returning to Chile, but when he learns that some classmates are bullying Hector, he turns all his energy to solving that problem.
When Charlie learns that Hector's family is moving back to Chile at the end of the year, he is crushed. With Tommy's help, he immediately starts cooking up schemes to keep Hector here, including a campaign to get him selected as next year's School Ambassador. (Surely Hector will have to stay, Charlie reasons, if he has such an important job.) As usual, Charlie's schemes lead to one near-disaster after another.
But moving away from his friends turns out to be the least of Hector's problems. Three mean boys have targeted him for bullying and are making his life miserable. Hector wants to solve the problem by himself, but Charlie and Tommy see that he needs help. They start a campaign to save Hector and to defeat “The Jerzollies of Darkness.”
This fun series for young readers from Grammy Award-winning author Bill Harley uses humor to illuminate important values such as learning to live together as a family and making the best of a bad situation. For more on this series, visit the Charlie Bumpers website here.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Harley's delightful friendship story, with Gustavson's spot-on illustrations, is humorous, yet poignant, and portrays the heartfelt good nature of true friends." —Booklist Online

"Narrated in a balance of warmhearted insight and wacky naiveté, Charlie's life will resonate with readers trying to navigate the simple but realistic perils of elementary school. Making friends, getting along with siblings, avoiding trouble at school—these situations matter to young readers, and Harley captures these emotions with a light and humorous touch."—Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2019-02-06

As the end of the school year fast approaches, Charlie learns that his friend Hector will be moving back to Chile. Can Charlie cook up a scheme to keep Hector at school?

In this seventh and final book of the Charlie Bumpers series, Grammy-winner Harley reveals the conflict that bullying creates in the mind of a fourth-grader. Narrated in a balance of warmhearted insight and wacky naiveté, Charlie's life will resonate with readers trying to navigate the simple but realistic perils of elementary school. Making friends, getting along with siblings, avoiding trouble at school—these situations matter to young readers, and Harley captures these emotions with a light and humorous touch. The Jerzollies of Darkness (three boys who are all jerks, bozos, and bullies) have been seriously bullying Hector. When adult support disappoints, Charlie and friends take matters into their own hands with mixed results. This young, white male protagonist, in his suburban, middle-class setting, nonetheless taps into universal feelings, and Charlie's genuine friendships with Hector and Tommy, who's black, keep diversity on the table. Gustavson's illustrations, rendered in India ink and watercolor, deftly cover friend and foe alike, giving shape to Charlie's world.

The series ends with the feeling of a completed arc for this fourth-grade year. Fans will feel satisfied but will find themselves hoping another year's in the offing. (Fiction. 7-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172514616
Publisher:	Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Series:	Charlie Bumpers Series
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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