Friday, March 29, 2013

New Customer Review - Otis Spofford

Otis Spofford
by Beverly Cleary [j Cleary]

One of these days you're going to go too far! Everyone cautions Otis Spofford about his misbehavior, but Otis is one of those boys who likes to make people laugh, doesn't like to take orders, enjoys stirring up excitement, and even finds it funny to make others mad. As for punishments, they're worth it if he had fun. More than Ramona, Otis is a bad kid. One day in dance class while preparing for a school performance, Otis finds himself bored and starts to complain. His teacher listens to him and offers him the part of a bull in a bullfight scene that will take place in the middle of the dance. If you think this satisfied Otis, think again. In barely any time, he's bored again and so now is poking the bullfighter with his fake horns. The day of the performance, he even steals the show from everyone by acting like a silly bull. Granted, none of these antics seriously hurt anyone, but then there's the day he threw spit balls in class. In what is my favorite episode in the book, Otis keeps spitting wads of paper at ones, despite the welt marks they create, until class ends. After all, what's the worst his teacher can do to him? Otis isn't afraid of his mom or the principal and so that means his teacher has to act far more resourceful is she is to stop him. Sadly, even when Otis learns his lesson about spit balls, he still doesn't change his daily behavior. Why then do I like Otis? Because of the reason that Otis creates mischief. He's not an evil kid; just a bored one. Then there's the fact he likes to do well at school, panics when trapped in a closet, and shows a love of animals. Otis has a likeable side. Last, there?s the final chapter. In it, the tables are turned on Otis. For once, the tricks are being played on him. And let me tell you, he doesn't like it! Ultimately though, he takes it all in good fun. -- review submitted by Allison H.-F. - a customer of the Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New Customer Reviews appear regularly in the pages of the BookGuide web site. You can visit the Customer Reviews page to see them all and/or submit your own, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually as we receive them.

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