Class B.U.R.P.

May 1, 2014
Aspiring elementary school comedian Louie Burger is back, this time tackling popularity.Following The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger (2013), Louie's favorite comedian, Lou Lafferman, airs the video of Louie barfing at the school talent show. Louie's brush with fame wins him public recognition from adults, but more importantly, it makes him interesting enough that the other kids talk to him instead of ignoring or bullying him-with the exception of cardboard bully Ryan Rakefield, of course. When it looks like his 15 minutes are about to expire, Louie becomes obsessed with recapturing his fleeting popularity. His older sister, Ari, hilariously explains the three ways of winning popularity: make people fear you, make people love you or get a temporary "popularity bump"-Louie's television cameo being one such bump. When attempts to force another bump fail miserably, he decides that the best way to achieve lasting popularity (and the subsequent protection from bullying and mockery that it brings) is to win the vote to become the class marshal for the school Halloween parade-an open popularity contest. His campaign to win leads him to neglect his best friends, Nick and Thermos, shockingly. Eventually, Louie reconciles being his weird self with being popular, as well as learning a lesson on valuing friends over popularity. Though the lessons are obvious, they are conveyed easily, and Louie is an appealingly flawed character.Funny and accessible. (Fiction. 7-11)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Fifth-grade jokester Louie Burger has a killer sense of humor, but that doesn't preclude him from being a B.U.R.P. (Boy Used to Ridicules and Put-Downs). He gets a temporary boost in popularity when a national comedy program features a video of him vomiting at the school talent show. But once the novelty wears off, Louie reverts to being the punching bag for resident bully Ryan Rakeman. Louie's two good friends, Nick and Thermos, help him put up with the teasing, but he wants to find a way to permanently boost his popularity so that Ryan will back off for good. Being the leader of the school Halloween parade seems like a good start, so Louie gets to work on his campaign to win this coveted title. Unfortunately, his desperate attempts to attain popularity cause him to neglect his true friends. This second installment is rife with doctored adjectives like "barftacular," as well as corny jokes and references to comedy legends like Charlie Chaplin. The ample illustrations are reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes and should grab the attention of reluctant readers and "Wimpy Kid" fans alike. The book is on the long side for a story that's relatively slight-multiple side plots bog down the action-but the right readers will stick with it. Give this one to kids or educators who are looking for anti-bullying stories, as well as to young comedy buffs.-Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2014
Grades 3-6 After the events in The Barftastic Life of Louie Burger (2013), Louie Burger's life as the social underdog of his fifth-grade class brightens considerably when he appears in a video on the Lou Lafferman comedy show. People talk to him, and not just his two friends, Nick and Thermos. Soon, however, his notoriety fades, and Louie, determined not to revert again to Class B.U.R.P. (Boy Used to Ridicule and Put-downs), begins to scheme of ways to get more attention and respect from his classmates. Louie is an appealing, genuinely funny 10-year-old, determined to win hearts and minds on his own terms. His single-mindedness leads to hurt feelings on the part of his family and friends, but all is put right in the end. Loopy comic bookstyle illustrations appear throughout, along with pages from Louie's comedy notebook. Some kids may have trouble getting past Louie's missteps and humiliations, but fans of Lincoln Peirce's Big Nate, Stephan Pastis' Timmy Failure, and James Patterson's I Funny (2012) should make friends with Louie Burger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)