Dunces Rock

September 1, 2014
The Dunces return (Dunces Anonymous, 2009), and this time they're battling their school's decision to cut music and drama. After Wilmot finds an electric guitar and decides to dedicate his life to rock-'n'-roll, his fellow Dunces take up the charge and conspire against Principal Hale, who recently cut the music and drama programs in favor of starting a hockey team. Josh infiltrates the team, while Magnolia's histrionics take center stage, and Wang schemes in the background. The new entry in the Dunces' saga is fluffy enough, providing adequate laughs and decent narrative drive. The author's cartoonish world is a bit rough to get into at first, but once readers find their footing, the journey unfolds smoothly. The author is wise not to dwell too much on the arts-vs.-sports agenda, instead leaning heavily on witty banter among her characters and larger-than-life explosions of joy and friendship. Another wise decision is made when dealing with Principal Hale, who is painted not as evil or shortsighted but instead pompous and vain, making this less and less a sophisticated analysis of scholastic debate and more a well-intentioned romp. A cute and mildly amusing slobs-vs.-snobs tale. (Fiction. 8-12)

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November 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 The club from Dunces Anonymous (2009) roars back when their school cuts drama and music to direct funds to the hockey team. Even though his father rejects his musical ambitions, Wilmot obtains a secondhand guitar from his teen neighbor Headcase, who attempts to induct Wilmot and the rest of the Dunces into the mysteries of rock 'n' roll. In their attempts to support one another, the friends get into wacky situations that are wholly believable for this age group, such as Wang's bright idea to insert Magnolia's baby brother into a Salvation Army drop box to rescue the aforementioned guitar, and Josh's attempts to gather intel on Principal Hale by pulling a mean prank on a classmate. Jaimet keeps the story fast-paced and funny, giving each friend a distinct challenge to overcome while they work together to bring drama and music back to their school. With a subtle Canadian flavor, the Dunce's latest escapades prove that friends can accomplish anything as long as they've got one another's backs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)