Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading (Charlie Joe Jackson Series #1)

by Tommy Greenwald, JP Coovert (Illustrator)

Overview

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald is the hilarious story of an avid non-reader and the extreme lengths to which he'll go to get out of reading a book.

Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he's managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he's in middle school, avoiding reading isn't as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he's tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250003379
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/08/2012
Series:	Charlie Joe Jackson Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	325,272
Product dimensions:	5.28(w) x 7.46(h) x 0.64(d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

TOMMY GREENWALD has enjoyed reading all his life, which is why he's appalled that his kids Charlie, Joe and Jack, would prefer getting a dental check-up to checking out a book. After years of pleading, threatening, and bribing, Tommy finally decided the only way to get his kids to read was to write a book about how to get out of reading. This is the result. And they read it! (So they say.) The Executive Creative Director at SPOTCO, an entertainment advertising agency in New York City, Tommy lives in Connecticut with his wife, Cathy; his non-reading sons, Charlie, Joe and Jack; and his dogs, Moose and Coco.

Read an Excerpt

1

 

My name is Charlie Joe Jackson, and I hate reading. And if you’re reading this book, you hate reading, too.

In fact, you do whatever you can to avoid reading, and the fact that you’re holding a book in your hand right now is kind of shocking.

I know exactly how you feel; I’m one of you.

Just remember: you are not alone. We’ll get through this together.

 

Text copyright © 2011 by Tommy Greenwald

Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
Part One: HOW TO NOT READ,
Part Two: THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBILITIES,
Part Three: IF AT FIRST YOU NEVER READ, DON'T TRY AGAIN,
Part Four: IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME,
Part Five: PLOT TWIST,
Part Six: ALMOST HOME,
Part Seven: THIS IS THE LAST PART, I PROMISE,
Acknowledgments,
Dedication & Copyright,

Editorial Reviews

In author Tommy Greenwald's raucous debut…this comedy of comeuppance shows its true colors, and, irony of ironies, is impossible to put down!” —Disney's Family Fun

“A perfect book for the non-reader or reluctant reader in your life...Laugh-out-loud funny, clever, and relevant, I believe Tommy Greenwald has written a book that will appeal to kids of all reading tastes.” —ReadKiddoRead.com

“This is a fun, fast-moving look at middle-school life through the eyes of a kid who would rather clean his room than pick up a book. Reluctant readers will be pleased.” —SLJ

“A delightful choice for reluctant readers...Tommy Greenwald's writing style is breezy and accessible without being too easy. It is also extremely funny and hard to put down. If the book's cover showed something blowing up, every reluctant boy reader in middle school would be proud to carry it around while secretly enjoying the nonviolent, straightforward story. Bookworms won't care; they'll love it either way.” —BookPage

“Kids who do peruse the book will enjoy Charlie Joe's chuckleworthy tips on keeping reading at bay, even if they take exception to his list of "helpful oxymorons: 1. good book, 2. happy reader, 3. important author, 4. nice library, 5. favorite bookstore.” —BCCB

“Charlie Joe's insider knowledge of the inner machinations of middle-school cliques will make younger readers smile in anticipation, and his direct address to readers makes make him feel like an older buddy showing the way…Slackers everywhere have a new, likable hero in Charlie Joe Jackson.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Hilarious...This debut is filled with passages that beg to be shared...With its subversive humor and contemporary details drawn straight from kids' worlds, this clever title should attract a wide following.” —Booklist, STARRED review

“Greenwald pulls off a clever bit of reverse psychology in his debut, first in a series starring a cheeky middle grader who goes to great lengths to avoid reading—and whose humor and rapid-fire delivery should draw in like-minded kids.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Greenwald pulls off a clever bit of reverse psychology in his debut, first in a series starring a cheeky middle grader who goes to great lengths to avoid reading—and whose humor and rapid-fire delivery should draw in like-minded kids. From the start, Charlie Joe schmoozes playfully with readers, promising short chapters and shorter words ("One syllable. Or less"). Kids who, upon entering the school library, may have been asked (as Charlie Joe is), "did you take a wrong turn somewhere?" will find an enthusiastic advocate in the boy. Throughout, he provides "tips" that dedicated nonreaders will enjoy ("If you have to read a book, make sure it has short chapters"). The novel chronicles Charlie Joe's machinations to avoid reading, which involve getting his classmates to do so for him; using this tactic for a research paper about school cliques yields revelations about clique mentality, but lands Charlie Joe in more trouble. Doth Charlie Joe protest too much? Maybe, but Greenwald wisely eschews an end-of-story reformation for his comic antihero, ensuring that readers will be treated to more of his entertaining circumlocutions in future books. Ages 9–12. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5–7—Charlie Joe Jackson is a likable middle schooler and an unabashed nonreader. In fact, he's so against the practice that he constantly flirts with danger to ensure that he never has to crack a book. He makes deals with friends to fill him in on assigned reading. When he is caught, it becomes much more difficult to pull off his year-end, research-heavy "Position Paper." He nails it, but there is no happy ending, and he writes a book—this book—as punishment. Greenwald believably inhabits the mind of a tween, with the cliques and short-lived first romances that come with it. Charlie Joe narrates his story while providing humorous tips between chapters about reading and avoiding it. This is a fun, fast-moving look at middle-school life through the eyes of a kid who would rather clean his room than pick up a book. Reluctant readers will be pleased.—Travis Jonker, Dorr Elementary School, MI

School Library Journal

Hero and first-person narrator Charlie Joe Jackson has a lot to say! Not only does he provide a window on middle school life, but he also delves, in alternating chapters, into his rationale and suggestions for how to avoid reading for pleasure or assignment. His aversion to book reports and position papers as well as his curiosity about girls strikes a familiar chord. MacLeod Andrews’s voice is refreshingly kid-friendly. His enthusiasm never flags, and his pacing mirrors the ups and downs of school—dragging when Charlie Joe is on the principal’s or his parents’ carpet and highly animated when the character is plotting with friends Timmy and Katie. Andrews’s spot-on inflections bring chuckles to the vignettes. Will Charlie Joe change his tune? A question-and-answer session with the author concludes the recording. A.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2011 - AudioFile

Charlie Joe will do just about anything to avoid reading in this humorous cautionary tale for book-hating middle-grade students.

Debut author Greenwald takes on the persona of Charlie Joe Jackson, a middle-school boy who hates reading. His avoidance techniques get him into serious trouble with his parents, his teachers and his friends. After a year of avoiding reading—paying off a friend in ice-cream sandwiches to read books for him and manipulating his friends so he won't have to read for the all-important position-paper project—Charlie Joe is forced to spend his summer vacation writing a book about his poor choices. Charlie Joe's insider knowledge of the inner machinations of middle-school cliques will make younger readers smile in anticipation, and his direct address to readers makes make him feel like an older buddy showing the way. Sprinkled into the narrative are "Charlie Joe's Tips" to avoiding reading books, written on faux notebook paper, that serve as a little diversion from the plot. As amusing as this is, Charlie Joe's voice is not consistent and occasionally jars with the intelligent, smart-guy sarcasm that characterizes most of Charlie Joe's prose.

That aside, slackers everywhere have a new, likable hero in Charlie Joe Jackson. (Fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews