This is the story of Donald Zinkoff. As you follow Zinkoff through his school years, you learn much about him. He is a sweet boy, who loves life. He is very much an outcast at his school. More kids make fun of him than are nice to him. Although Donald is clumsy and never seems to do anything right, he is happy and doesn't realize that others are constantly putting him down.
I liked this story and feel that this is a great book for kids to read if they feel like they don't belong or if they are being bullied. I thought the beginning of the story was exciting. I was interested in reading to find out what Zinkoff was going to encounter next. The book tends to slow down about half way through. The plot becomes less exciting and the ending was not that great. ( )

sweet, cute, funny. surprisingly moving for a children's book. ( )

Donald Zinkoff is a sweet kid. He's very sweet....and clumsy, and uncoordinated, and frequently wearing a large giraffe hat...and oblivious. From Zinkoff's first trifle on the playground where a bully snatches his precious giraffe hat, Zinkoff shows readers that he's not your average first grader. He doesn't cry or whine, or even beg for his hat back, he simply smiles, assuming he had someone else's precious giraffe hat by mistake, and hands it over.

4th grade Field Day is particulary painful to watch as Zinkoff comes in last in every event, and the other kids soon have a new name for him. "Loser." Zinkoff, however, remains oblivious to the insults. It's not until a questionnaire given by a teacher asks Zinkoff, "who is your best friend" and Zinkoff realizes that he doesn't have one, that he realizes something is missing.
Field Day continues to be a problem for Zinkoff, as does frequent rejection. Throughout elementary school and into 6th grade, Zinkoff remains, for the most, part friendless. It is not until a little girl, who lives near him goes missing that everyone sees Zinkoff's true abilities, and soon after "Loser" is replaced with "Hero." ( )

wasn't a bad book ( )

While I absolutely LOVE (and always have) the beginning of the book, even the middle, detailing all of Zinkoff's various childish misadventures, I've always failed to understand how that's all resolved in the end. Perhaps 'resolved' is the wrong word, after all, we wouldn't all want our favorite Loser to turn into someone else entirely. More accurately, then, it just didn't feel like an ending. Then again, what would an appropriate ending have been, right? Zinkoff's fully comfortable with his status, it's not self-acceptance. I also would absolutely bawl if he lost his dorkyness. So I really think the only good resolution would have been Zinkoff being accepted, whether by a larger group or, more preferably, one other friend, mischief making soul mates. This actually seems to be a problem with many Spinelli books, the incompleteness. It's kind of a shame, really, considering how amazing his writing is and how well-developed the characters are. Add in some good [but missing] plot and his stories would be really near perfect, but without that essential plot, the story's really not worth reading. ( )