Charlie Bumpers vs. the Really Nice Gnome
Gr 2–4—Charlie Bumpers is a typical fourth grade boy trying out for the school play. He's picked out his part—the evil sorcerer—and even has the laugh down: muwa-ha-ha-ha! But his dreams of playing the villain are squashed when Mrs. Burke tells Charlie he's landed the least cool role in the play: the Nice Gnome. Charlie attempts to rewrite his lines and add some humor to the Nice Gnome while keeping up with his responsibilities at home. One of his chores is walking Ginger, the family dog, so he enlists the help of his little sister, which leads to disaster, and his brother won't leave him alone about being the G-nice G-nome. How will Charlie survive this dreadful school play? Harley narrates, delivering an entertaining performance. Although the story is a little slow to start, it evolves into a heartwarming and sometimes laugh-out-loud tale about giving 100 percent even when you're less than thrilled to do so. Charlie Bumpers is a very relatable boy, and listeners will be eager to find out how his adventure unfolds.—Jessica Gilcreast, Bedford High School, NH--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.