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Summary
Summary
Frederick Frederickson has a food-chain theory about life. There are lions, like the school bully. Gazelles, like the bullied kids. There are meerkats, and the fleas that live on the butts of meerkats. Frederick's a flea.
Fifth grade is off to a terrible start when Frederick is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. His fellow troop mates--Nosebleed, Specs, The Professor, and little-yet-lethal Ant Bite--are terrifying. But in between trust-building exercises and midnight escape attempts, a tenuous friendship grows between them. Which is lucky, because a Category 5 hurricane is coming and everyone will have to work together--lions and fleas alike--to survive!
Kate Beasley outdoes herself in this hilarious, whip-smart tale of brotherhood, survival, and what it really means to be a friend.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-After Frederick Frederickson is clobbered by a bully while playing an illegal game of dodgeball, he's labeled as the lowest on the food chain: a flea. So he attempts to make the bully jealous by gloating over his scheduled cruise for spring break. Many misadventures land him instead in a camp for naughty boys and mistaken for legendary bad boy Dash. Assuming the other boy's identity helps Frederick develop both friendship and self-respect. Robbie Daymond voices all the characters, using different personas with mixed results. Nasal-sounding Ant-Bite irritates, for example, while the professor's voice works. The plot and predicaments will keep listeners entranced. VERDICT This entertaining coming-of-age novel is recommended for young listeners.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa -Public Schools, Holland, MI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Not much is likely to go well for a boy whose own parents named him Frederick Frederickson: even Frederick's best friend, Joel, tells him, "You need to accept that life is going to be horrible for you." So when an impending hurricane cancels Frederick's favorite event of the year-a family cruise to the Caribbean-he is not overjoyed he'll be home to attend Joel's birthday party after all. Things go downhill quickly from there when, at the party, Joel's prank to send Frederick on another cruise results in the boy accidentally falling into a rudderless boat; Frederick is saved from the alligator-infested waters only when he washes up hours later on the shores of a camp for troubled boys. Mistaken for a notorious camp veteran, Frederick has a brief turn at being a fearsome leader (the lion of the title). Over the course of the weekend-and many comedic interludes highlighting his ineptitude at competition-Frederick realizes he does not want to be king of the playground, the cafeteria, or anywhere else. He just wants a friend, but in order to have one, he will have to learn how to be one. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. Illustrator's agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Frederick Fredrickson is bullied, even by his so-called friends. After a boating dare goes awry, Frederick washes ashore at a disciplinary camp for boys, where he is mistaken for a notorious-bully camper as a hurricane approaches. Frederick is a sympathetic protagonist for this story of bullying and boyhood; mild crude humor, camp shenanigans, and a lion encounter add to the entertainment. Includes occasional black-and-white illustrations by Santat. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
When social misfit Frederick Frederickson rises to popularity due to a case of mistaken identity, he struggles to maintain the charade.Even his friends see him as a loser, a flea among lions, but 10-year-old Frederick Frederickson is sure that he can overcome the pecking order of fifth grade, someday becoming "his true awesome self." After a game of dodgeball goes wrong, Frederick can only hope that his family's annual cruise will give him respite from school. But when a Category 5 hurricane cancels his vacation, Frederick is pushed to the limit and accepts a dare that sends him floating down a river without a paddle. Coming ashore at Camp Omigoshee, a disciplinary camp for boys, Frederick is mistaken for a camper whose bad reputation is infinitely cooler than his own. In his effort to keep up the facade, Frederick discovers that the other boys are also not what they seem. Beasley's sophomore novel (Gertie's Leap to Greatness, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, 2016) is chock full of zany, nicknamed characters (Frederick shares a cabin with Nosebleed, Ant Bite, Specs, and the Professor) coming together in a story of friendship among boys. The boys' races are not specified, though one character has an Indian name, and Santat depicts one as black and another as brown-skinned; Frederick is white. Readers will find it difficult not to compare this book to Louis Sachar's more complex Holes, though depth is added with Frederick's recognition of his economic privilege and questioning of the power his fake popularity gives him.A fun coming-of-age romp. (Fiction. 8-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Frederick Frederickson knows he's never been popular, but he's convinced that he has the potential to be, despite his friend Joel's philosophy of life, which places him at the literal bottom of a social hierarchy ruled by lions : Frederick is a flea on a meerkat's butt. Plus, his precious family vacation aboard a cruise ship his one moment in the year to escape life as a flea has been canceled by a distant hurricane. His luck might be turning, though, when he is accidentally set adrift in Joel's family's motorboat, which eventually runs aground at a transformational (aka disciplinary) wilderness camp for boys, where he is mistaken for Dash Blackwood a lion if there ever was one. Beasley follows her acclaimed debut, Gertie's Leap to Greatness (2016), with a winning story that matches earnestness with humor. As Frederick basks in the glory of being cool, he grapples with the moral and practical challenges of living a lie. His friendship with his cabinmates Specs, Nosebleed, Ant Bite, and the Professor is particularly enlightening as he realizes he is no better than the bad kids there. Frederick is a highly relatable character, and as unlikely as his situation is, Beasley has her bases covered and renders it plausible. Though unavailable for review, Santat's illustrations should further enhance this transformative read.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2018 Booklist