Parents' Guide to Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff

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Common Sense Media Review

By Monica Wyatt , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 11+

Funny and sensitive story of friendship.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 11+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 9+

Based on 2 kid reviews

What's the Story?

Stuff moves to 116th Street in Harlem and meets the boys and girls who will be his friends. They stir up plenty of humor just hanging with each other, but when tragedy strikes, the group decides to form a club called the Good People to help each other. Mostly funny, sometimes serious, this is a wonderful portrait of friendship.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

Plenty of humor and realistic dialogue make the characters in this story come alive. Walter Dean Myers has written numerous books about the gritty life in Harlem. In this book he concentrates on kids who deliberately do good for one another, stay away from drugs and sex, and have fun together. Meanwhile, they help each other cope with serious difficulties.

The episodic story progresses until readers have a bright portrait of these kids who grow up in a tough neighborhood, but who remain kids. They have the support of their families and each other, and learn the difference between being people and playing roles.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the role that friendship plays in each character's life. How do their friends help them overcome difficult situations?

Book Details

  • Author : Walter Dean Myers
  • Genre : Friendship
  • Book type : Fiction
  • Publisher : Penguin Group
  • Publication date : January 1, 1975
  • Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
  • Number of pages : 190
  • Last updated : July 12, 2017

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