 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Janitor's Boy
- By Andrew Clements
- Genre: Coming of Age
Common Sense Media says
Gets to the heart of a father-son relationship.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that though not much actually happens, it's a page-turner anyway. The book discusses the complex and difficult relationship between father and son -- it book may inspire a lively discussion. Though he misbehaves once, Jack is a model of responsibility and good sense, and learning about his father deepens their relationship.
What's the story?
Jack feels so humiliated by the fact that his father is the school janitor that he decides to get revenge by smearing a desk with gum. When he's caught, his punishment is to scrape gum off desks for three weeks after school, leading to discoveries about his dad's past.
By fifth grade, Jack has learned to be embarrassed by his father's profession--janitor. When Jack begins class in the building where his dad, John, is head custodian, Jack's worst nightmare comes true. The other kids find out, in an especially humiliating way, what his father does for a living. Blaming his father, he decides to get revenge. He determines what is the stickiest and smelliest gum (Bubblicious watermelon flavor), chews up thirteen pieces, and smears them all over the bottom of a desk and onto the seat, knowing full well who will have to clean it up.
But he is caught, and his punishment is to spend three weeks after school helping out his father by scraping gum off desks, starting with the one he so efficiently ruined. This begins a voyage of discovery for Jack into the hidden recesses of the school and of his father's past.
Is it any good?
Andrew Clements is mining deep emotional territory here: the complex and difficult relationship between father and son. But this book contains a rare alchemy -- the author is able to have Jack find independent resolution of his problems without resorting to writer's stratagems to get the parents out of the way. He brings Jack through trials to a greater understanding of himself and his father, but he does it without villains. Jack grows, not in spite of stupid or venal adults, but hand in hand with caring, wise grown-ups who know when to step in and when to step back.
The author knows schools -- the student pecking order, the faculty politics, the brightly lit classrooms and dim dusty recesses of school geography. For young readers, the little details ring true and give them new insights into the world they inhabit. Most children's books have happy endings, but this ending will bring both a grin to the face and a lump to the throat. It may not be the way the world works, but it's the way it ought to.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the relationship between Jack and his dad. Would you be embarrassed if your father was the janitor? What jobs do you think you might be interested in when you're an adult?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
A must read book
This book is a great book. It is abotu a father and son problem that sometimes every family can have!!!!:)
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Kind of dull...
I read this book a few months ago because there was nothing else... The book has a very slow moving plot if not plotless... It's just about this kid who's dad is the school janitor and he always gets embarassed. Then he sneaks away during detention one day and finds a secret passage in the school auditorium leading to a hideout that his dad had been keeping a secret from him all these years... Sounds intruiging, but trust me, this one isn't worth picking up.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
I loved it.
The book is the best.I never read one better i'll never forget how my 10 year old loved this.Its the best.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
GREEEAAAATTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!
i like this book alot!
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Didn't like this book
This book was boring and tiering, as i read it. This book wasn't exsiting, only lame. That is all i have to say about this book.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Memorable !
Wow! This book sure gives us all a lesson to benefit from whether it affects us or not! The author also seems to really understand how kids feel like in these types of STICKY situations! Fantastic book, very emotional in some ways, and worth your time! If you miss out on this rare type of book, you miss out on...Oh! I don't know- a lot!!!
Was this review useful?
|
|
Kid, 10 years old
April 17, 2011
AGE
i love love love this book
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Author: | Andrew Clements |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Coming of Age |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | January 1, 2000 |
| Number of pages: | 140 |
| Paperback price: | $4.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
Review It
Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already read it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
