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The Losers Club

Page 15

by Andrew Clements


  That got a quick laugh from the crowd, and Alec went on. “But I thought about it a lot, and the Losers Club is actually a pretty good name. In the school library there’s an old Book Week poster that says ‘Get Lost in a Book.’ Well, we do that. We lose ourselves in books for hours and hours—books about all kinds of people and tons of different places. Then we come back, and we bring things with us. When we get lost like that, I think we find all kinds of cool stuff.” Alec pointed down at one of his book covers. “Like that book, I Am LeBron James? Before I read it, I never knew what a hard time he had as a kid, and then he went on to be an MVP! And the book Hatchet? I’ve read that story so many times that if I ever got lost in the wilderness? I’d be scared, but I’d have a lot of good ideas about how to stay alive, and I wouldn’t feel totally helpless or ignorant. Because books do that—they make us lose some ignorance, and lose some fear. And losing fear might mean losing some anger, too.

  “So, that’s about it. We’re the Losers Club.” He paused, but only for a second. “And there’s one more thing. I get called a bookworm a lot. But that’s not a good description.” Alec unzipped his sweatshirt and pulled it off so everyone could see the design on his T-shirt. “Because I’m not a bookworm—I’m a bookhawk. We all are!”

  The clapping and cheering that started up sounded so loud that Alec felt embarrassed. The visitors and other kids began to gather around him, around all the club members, and they kept on applauding, more and more as people left the bleachers and crowded onto the gym floor.

  And during that applause? A lot happened to Alec.

  His parents hurried over, and he got a big hug from his mom.

  “That was so good, Alec—really great!”

  “Fantastic!” his dad said. “Perfect rebranding!”

  Luke arrived, and he made Alec bend down so he could hear: “Well have you done!”

  Alec slapped him on the back and said, “No—well have we done! The T-shirt image is great—thanks!”

  Jason rushed up, still holding on to his stream of book covers, waving it in Alec’s face. “This is so awesome! I’m gonna keep this thing forever!”

  Mrs. Case shook Alec’s hand, then said to his parents, “I’ve been director here for five years, and that was the best open house presentation I have ever seen! Congratulations, Alec—wonderful, wonderful!” And then she dashed over and hugged Julia and the other kids from the chatty table—her table.

  And Mrs. Vance was next, shaking his dad’s hand first, then his mom’s, and then Alec’s. She fixed her large eyes on him and said, “This year is off to an excellent start, and I’m very happy for you—keep it up!”

  Looking behind him, Alec spotted Dave Hampton—and with him? Kent, bent over the trail of book covers, pointing and smiling—more than half of Dave’s 103 books were about sports. As Alec watched, Kent looked up and caught his eye. He gave Alec an almost friendly nod. Alec grinned at him, pointed at the word on his T-shirt and then at Kent.

  The clapping began to die down, and Alec glanced to his left. Nina was laughing with Richie, and her mom and dad looked so proud of her.

  Nina turned his way and smiled at him.

  A part of Alec’s mind did what that part of his mind always did—it tried to find a moment in some book, a moment that felt this way, a moment that had this much happiness, this much intensity, this much life.

  But only one thought came to him—This is better than the best book I’ve ever read!

  And Alec was right.

  Here’s a list of the books enjoyed by the characters in The Losers Club. I’ve tried to make the kids in the story feel like real readers of real books. With so many wonderful books available today, don’t be surprised if some of your favorites aren’t mentioned in this novel—a lot of my own favorites are missing, too! And, of course, the point isn’t to race through a great long list of books, but to really love reading one great book at a time.

  Wishing you many happy page-turns,

  “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury

  Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

  Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce

  The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander

  The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

  Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen

  Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

  Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

  Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

  The Call of the Wild by Jack London

  The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

  Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

  The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis

  Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

  The Giver by Lois Lowry

  Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

  Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

  Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

  The High King (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander

  The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

  Holes by Louis Sachar

  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

  I Am LeBron James by Grace Norwich

  I Am Stephen Curry by Jon Fishman

  Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

  Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes

  Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

  Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

  LeBron’s Dream Team: How Five Friends Made History by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger

  The Lightning Thief  (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

  A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

  The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

  Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

  The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

  The River by Gary Paulsen

  The Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown

  Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

  Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

  “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury

  Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (written by many authors)

  Star Wars series (written by many authors)

  The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss

  Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries) by Rachel Renée Russell

  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

  “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

  Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

  Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

  Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

  When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

  George Clements

  ANDREW CLEMENTS is the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved modern classic Frindle, which has sold over six million copies, won nineteen state awards (and been nominated for thirty-eight!), and been translated into over a dozen languages around the world. Andrew began writing as a public school teacher outside of Chicago, where he read many of the titles mentioned in this book with his students. Called the “master of school stories” by Kirkus Reviews, Andrew is now the author of over eighty acclaimed books for kids. He lives in Maine with his wife, Becky. They have four grown sons and two rascally cats. Visit Andrew online at andrewclements.com.

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