I Was a Fifth-Grade Zebra - Hardcover

Hopper, Nancy J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803715951 ISBN 13: 9780803715950

Publisher: Dial, 1993

Synopsis

More at home chasing frogs than boys, fifth grader Chelsea is horrified when she is forced to find a date to accompany her to a friend's birthday party.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Hopper (The Queen of Put-Down, 1991) offers another light, humorous story focusing on the self-consciousness of preadolescence. Chelsea Zeller sees herself as a zebra in a herd of ponies--especially when friend Rachel announces a dress-up, bring-your-own-boy birthday party. Chelsea's interests lie elsewhere: she prefers jeans, writes poetry, loves science, and recently lost her pet tarantula. Boys aren't in the picture, except for C.R., whom she has alienated by announcing that he smells like cat dirt. However, with some coaxing and intervention from her mother and older sister, Chelsea succumbs to the need to fit in--and unwittingly attends the party with a third grader, complete with frogs in pockets, impersonating his seventh-grade brother Shawn. Weeks later, when Chelsea meets the real Shawn, she discovers that an interest in science doesn't preclude an interest in boys and that zebras may be better off than ponies. The story is short on substance, plays up the petty rivalries of ten-year-old girls, and hints at--but glosses over--sensitive issues, including peer pressure, interracial dating, and what it really means to be different. Still, it's a fun read that's bound to appeal to its target audience. (Fiction. 8-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Chelsea can't believe that she has to wear a dress and find a boy to accompany her to a classmate's birthday party. A budding scientist and poet, she has never fit in perfectly with her peers, and her outspoken disdain of a mixed-gender party irritates her critics still further. Negotiations to find a suitable escort backfire when her blind date--chosen by a well-meaning older sister--substitutes his own younger brother, a third-grader who releases frogs onto the birthday cake. Chelsea's blunders and her tensions with some of the girls in the class, realistically depicted, typify the problems associated with her age group. The story is narrated in Chelsea's straightforward no-nonsense voice, but some of the events don't quite jell. Chelsea, for example, does an about-face on the subject of boys after being teased in public by a male classmate. With more fleshing out, incidents like this could have enriched the story and eliminated some confusing inconsistencies. Why, after the disastrous episode with her much-younger date, is Chelsea anxious for him to invite her to go frog-chasing? These glitches are minor, but they mar an otherwise strong story that offers a hopeful message about remaining an individual. Ages 8-11.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0803715951
• ISBN 13: 9780803715950
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128