Module 4: Slob by Ellen Potter

Book Summary: 

Owen Birnbaum is a twelve-year-old boy who is fatter and smarter than most kids his age. He is a creator of inventions from parts he finds. He lives with his mom and his sister, Jeremy, in New York City. Owen is bullied by this classmates and his horrible gym teacher, Mr. Wooly. There is also a sinister looking student, named Mason, that everyone is afraid of because there is a rumor that he has a knife in his pocket. Owen believes that Mason is stealing his Oreo cookies from his lunch. Now Owen has to prove Mason is stealing his Oreo cookies. Owen is also throughout the book trying to build a machine called the Nemesis, which will allow to see back in time to help him solve the murders of his parents. Meanwhile, his sister, Jeremy, also has to figure out where she belongs. This is humorous, yet heartwarming story that teaches compassion, empathy, how you should not judge someone, and how bullying is never right.

APA Reference: 

Potter, E. (2010). Slob. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Impressions: 

I read this book because it is extremely popular with my students. Owen’s first person perspective is fantastic. How he talks to the audience is amusing and will make you laugh out loud at times. This book also does a great job at teaching empathy and compassion for one another. You learn not to judge someone by their appearance or by the rumors you hear. You learn not judge someone’s weight because you don’t know the reason why they are bigger. There are just so many lessons to learn from this book, but it is a fantastic job of teaching these lessons to the reader without being in their face or judgmental. This was a super fantastic book which I will be reading aloud to my students this fall.

Professional Review: 

Booklist (June 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 19))
Grades 4-7. Twelve-year-old Owen and his sister attend a progressive New York City school where there are no desks, “Just workstations. Which are basically desks.” Despite the school motto, “Compassion, Not Competition,” overweight Owen is victimized by his sadistic gym teacher as well as by many fellow students. In his spare time, he attempts to construct a video playback time machine in order to discover who murdered his parents two years earlier. Slowly, Owen realizes whom he can trust and what matters to him now. Self-aware and ironic, Owen makes a sympathetic narrator. Readers will also enjoy the portrayals of his younger sister Caitlin, who insists that her name is Jeremy now that she’s joined GWAB (Girls Who Are Boys), and transfer student/outcast Mason Rigg, who, rumor has it, carries a switchblade tucked into his sock. Loose ends that appear in the narrative early on are tied up a little too neatly by the end, but the vividly drawn characters offer plenty to enjoy along the way.

[Review of the book Slob, by E. Potter]. (2009, June 1). Booklist, 105, 19. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com

Library Uses: 

I would use this book and Wonder to kick off National Bullying Prevention Month. I would get a copy to each homeroom or Reading teacher and have them read it to the class. I would then create an interactive bulletin board on how students can prevent bullying that the students could add to on a daily basis.

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