Children's Fiction School & Education
Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week
- Publisher
- Kids Can Press
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2012
- Category
- School & Education, Humorous Stories, Chapter Books
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781554535781
- Publish Date
- Mar 2012
- List Price
- $16.95
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771381192
- Publish Date
- Apr 2014
- List Price
- $8.99
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781554539895
- Publish Date
- Jan 2014
- List Price
- $5.99
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Where to buy it
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 7 to 10
- Grade: 2 to 5
- Reading age: 5 to 8
Description
At last, it's Jasper John Dooley's turn to be Star of the Week at school. Unfortunately, nothing turns out as planned. His Show and Tell falls flat. A new baby at his friend Ori's house steals his spotlight. And worst of all, the new baby has only-child Jasper wondering if his own family is too small. When Jasper decides to build himself a brother (named Earl) out of wood, Earl's schoolyard shenanigans send Jasper to the principal's office! But with a little help from family and friends, things turn around for Jasper. And by the time Friday arrives, he is once again sure that he has what it takes to be a star.
Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week is the first in a series of chapter books featuring a charismatic and funny central character. An only child with active, loving parents (and a most impressive lint collection), Jasper John Dooley is a true original.
About the authors
Caroline Adderson is the author of Very Serious Children (Scholastic 2007), a novel for middle readers about two brothers, the sons of clowns, who run away from the circus. I, Bruno (Orca 2007) and Bruno for Real are collections of stories for emergent readers featuring seven year-old Bruno and his true life adventures.
Caroline Adderson also writes for adults and has won two Ethel Wilson Fiction Prizes, three CBC Literary Awards, as well as the 2006 Marion Engel Award given annually to an outstanding female writer in mid-career. Her numerous nominations include the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the Governor General's Literary Award, the Rogers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Most recently, Caroline was the Vancouver Public Library's 2008 Writer-in-Residence.
Her eight year-old son Patrick and his many friends inspire her children's writing. Caroline and her family live in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Caroline Adderson's profile page
Ben Clanton is an up-and-coming author-illustrator from Seattle who describes himself as a “story scribbler, picture squiggler, book aficionado, child advocate, dragon tamer and avid sock wearer.” Vote for Me! is the first book he has both written and illustrated.
Awards
- Commended, Best Bets Junior Fiction (Series), Ontario Library Association
- Winner, Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street Children's Book Committee
- Short-listed, Hackmatack's Children's Choice Book Award
- Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre
Editorial Reviews
This well-written, funny, and engaging story is a promising start to a new chapter-book series ...
Booklist
Readers will identify with many of Jasper's comical, age-appropriate issues as he navigates the sometimes confusing complications of early primary school.
Kirkus Reviews
This first title in a transitional chapter book series introduces an enthusiastic boy full of creativity and everyday concerns.
School Library Journal
... a work of genius ... it has a playful sparkle that makes it truly exceptional.
The Toronto Star
Librarian Reviews
Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week (Jasper John Dooley, Book 1)
While award-winning author Caroline Adderson’s latest offerings appear disparate — an easy reader in a humorous series and a stand-alone dramatic novel — they share loving familial relationships and sensitive, kind and unusual protagonists.In Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week, the eponymous protagonist is perhaps the only child in his class who fails to understand that being the week’s “star” is an extended homework assignment. Indeed, much of the gentle humour in this book arises from the differences between what Jasper and the reader understand. Jasper cannot fathom, for example, why a classmate thinks he is poor when he brings his beloved collection of scented dryer lint for Show and Tell. Conflict arises when the birth of his friend Ori’s colicky sister eclipses Jasper’s star status. Jasper’s subsequent quest for his own “pretty purple” sibling causes a funny, touching chain of events during which Jasper discovers that a baby sibling is more than an attention-getting accessory. Jasper’s good-heartedness, hilarious logic and unique outlook will attract youngsters to this promising new series. They will also enjoy Clanton’s expressive, childlike, black-and-white drawings. Parents will appreciate the real issue that underlies the humour (i.e., Jasper’s unhappiness at his family’s size).
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Fall 2012. Volume 35 No. 4.
Jasper John Dooley: Star of the Week (Jasper John Dooley, Book 1)
Jasper John Dooley is finally the Star of the Week at school, but things don’t go as planned and no one is interested in his Show and Tell. With the help of his parents, friends and a hammer and nails, Jasper manages to turn things around and regain his classmates’ attention.Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. Spring, 2012.
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