The Night I Flunked My Field Trip

May 10, 2004
A nautical class outing goes awry in Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever #5: The Night I Flunked My Field Trip by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, illus. by Carol Heyer. When Henry and his class head to Manhattan's South Street Seaport to learn the ropes on an old sailing ship, Hank inadvertently sets the ship out to sea.

December 1, 2004
Gr 3-5 -Another book featuring the dyslexic, list-making fourth-grader. Hank's class is scheduled to spend the night on The Pilgrim Spirit, a tall sailing ship docked in New York Harbor. He boards with the other students and soon learns that his nemesis, Nick McKelty, has tricked him again by nominating him for a job that involves a lot of cleaning for the mean and gruff captain. When Hank is learning knot tying, he accidentally unties the ship and they are soon adrift with a captain and first mate who are actors and know nothing about sailing. Hank, his friends, and his grandfather help to make for a happy ending. Although this book stands alone, fans of the series will enjoy spending more time with Hank and his cohorts. While the humor sometimes seems forced, the story has just enough details about dyslexia to attract those who have this learning disability and instill empathy in those who don't.-Debbie Stewart Hoskins, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2005
Trying to hide his learning challenges from friends continues to cause trouble for Hank. In "Enchilada" he hosts a Japanese student and prepares enchiladas for Multi-Cultural Day, resulting in slapstick pandemonium. The plot of "Field Trip" Hank's class spends the night on a ship docked in New York Harboris more satisfying, although it, too, features the series's usual one-dimensional characters and lackluster prose.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)