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ABOUT THE SERIES
In the newest book in the Hank Zipzer series, it's graduation time for Hank and all of his friends—which means it's time to move on from PS 87 to middle school! Trouble is, there are tests Hank has to pass to get into the same middle schools as his friends, and his learning differences might get in the way. This causes him to examine who he is, what's special about him, and where his path might lead. Luckily, a life-altering audition helps Hank find his true path.
When Hank first heard that his mom was having a baby boy, he wasn't so thrilled. And when he finds out that the baby will be sharing his room, Hank is positively outraged! To make things easier, Dad suggests he take Hank and Emily away for some bonding. But on the first day of their trip, a freak snowstorm arrives. And then they get a call that the baby is coming early! Hank, Dad, and Emily know they have to get home—and fast! They hop on a train, hitch a ride on a dump truck, jump on a snowmobile, and climb into a dogsled, all in a desperate attempt to get home in time for Baby Zipzer's birth.
Hank enters his dog Cheerio in a show, hoping to win the big prize. Unfortunately for Hank, Nick McKelty and his gassy little Chihuahua have the same thing in mind. Will Hank and Cheerio be able to take home the ribbon for Best in Show?
When Ms. Adolf hurts her back in a tango contest and goes on long-term leave, Mr. Rock (the music teacher) is called in as the sub. Hank is psyched . . . until Mr. Rock suggests that Hank attend an after-school reading program, which means he'll miss tae kwon do. But when Hank gets a crush on a girl in the reading program, and when Mr. Rock says that instead of writing his autobiography (a class assignment), Hank can present his life in scrapbook form, well . . . life's looking good. Then Hank finds out that his crush is actually the cousin of his nemesis, McKelty! Readers will love Hank's newest adventure, plus they will adore reading Hank's scrapbook, which includes black-and-white photos of his school and neighborhood, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and more!
One afternoon, Hank overhears his mom and Frankie's mom talking about having a baby. Having a baby!? It must be Frankie's mom that they're talking about! Frankie will go crazy when he hears about this! Hank worries about how to break the news to his best friend—until he finds out that it's his own mother who is pregnant! How could she do this to him? One annoying sibling is enough. Hank definitely did not order this baby!
Hank's Dad has decided to enter a crossword-puzzle tournament, and he wants to make a family road trip of it! So the family piles into the car?along with Frankie and Katherine the iguana (Hank and Emily each get to bring a "friend"). When they reach their destination, they'll get to spend the day at a roller-coaster park during Hank's Dad's tournament! The only caveat is that Hank has a homework packet to finish before they get there... which he somehow manages to lose at a stop along the way. Suddenly, Hank doesn't feel so good... Can Hank and Frankie rescue the lost packet and get Hank on a roller coaster?
Hank is failing math, so he has to work with Heather Payne, resident class brain, to help get his grades up. At the same time, Hank's school is putting on a production of The King and I. As coincidence would have it, Hank is cast as the King, and Heather as Anna. But when Hank's dad tells him he can only appear in the play if he gets a B on his next math test, Hank knows he has to hit the books. Can Hank pull through in time for the show?
On Halloween day, Hank comes to school dressed in what he thinks is the perfect costume—a table in an Italian restaurant. Nick McKelty, the resident school bully (dressed in a total blood and guts costume), thinks Hank's costume is wimpy and that Hank wouldn't know how to be scary and gross if his life depended on it! So Hank decides to create the scariest haunted house ever and invite McKelty over to show him what scary really is. The only problem is that Hank's dog, Cheerio, is scared of Hank's haunted house. So scared, in fact, that when Hank tries to find him, he's nowhere in sight! Have Hank's Halloween hijinks gone too far?
Hank thought that getting through summer school to get to the fifth grade would be hard enough, but little did he know that it would get worse! Everyone in the fifth grade is starting to focus on a sport—and they’re really good. Everyone, that is, except Hank.
Summer school are two words in the English language that Hank Zipzer doesn't want to learn. But there's no getting out of this one for Hank-summer school, here he comes! Will Hank have to spend the summer bored to death inside a sweltering classroom, or will he actually learn a cool lesson or two?
It's time for the end of year parent-teacher conference, and Hank's in a panic. He's afraid that his teacher is going to tell his parents that he has to repeat the fourth grade. So Hank creates an elaborate scheme to have his parents win an out-of-town trip so they're gone during the conference days. Of course, the plan backfires. Will Hank have to stay in fourth grade forever?
PS 87 is having multicultural week, and Ms. Adolf's class is putting on a "Foods from Around the World" luncheon. Hank is thrilled--no reading, no outlining, and no review questions, just cooking! Hank makes enchiladas, and at the luncheon, Ms. Adolf piles her plate with lots of food. But after a few bites, her face turns bright red--one of the dishes is super-spicy! Ms. Adolf accuses someone of playing a mean practical joke, and punishes the entire class with no recess until the guilty party comes forward. Hank realizes his trouble with numbers might have caused the problem--what if he accidentally used three cups of peppers instead of 1/3 cup? Will Hank be able to get recess back for everyone without getting detention for the rest of his life?
Hank is thrilled about the "Best Field Trip of the Year"--everyone from Ms. Adolph's class gets to spend the night on an old-fashioned three-mast sailing ship in New York Harbor! And Hank gets even more excited when the ship's captain chooses him to be the first mate. But being first mate is not all it's cracked up to be, especially for a crazy captain who takes his job a little too seriously. The best field trip of the year is becoming the worst night of Hank's life--how's he going to get out of this one.
Hank LOVES baseball. L-O-V-E-S it! Unfortunately, though, he's not very good at the game. So everyone is surprised--including Hank himself--when Hank throws a zinger pitch at a practice for P.S. 87's annual School Olympiad baseball game. Hank knows how he pitched the "Zippity Zinger"--itmust have happened because he accidentally wore his sister Emily's lucky monkeysocks!Because of that stellar pitch, Hank has been chosen to pitch for P.S. 87 for the Big Game. The pressure is on--Hank's got to wear those socks again, or risk blowing the biggest ball game of his life. The only problem is, Emily wants to wear the lucky monkey socks herself since she's competing in the Brain Buster for the Olympiad. Will Hank be able to pull off another Zippity Zinger--or will he strike out?
It's science project time in Ms. Adolf's class. This is good news and bad news for Hank-he loves science, but he hates the report part. So Hank turns to TV to take his mind off things. But when the program directory scrolls by too quickly for Hank to know what's on, he decides to take apart the cable box to try to slow down the crawl. Great! Now Hank has found the perfect science project! But what he wasn't counting on was his sister's pet iguana laying eighteen eggs in the disassembled cable box. How is Hank going to get out of this one?
It's report card day-the most dreaded day in Hank's school year. And when Hank gets his grades, they're his worst nightmare come true: a D in spelling, a D in reading, a D in math. After school, Hank and his friends go to his mom's deli. His mom is on the prowl-she knows a report card day when she sees one. Hank tries to stall her, but she's going for his backpack. He's cornered. Hank hands the report card off to his friend Frankie, who gives it to his friend Ashley, who gives it to Robert, who puts it into a meat grinder! Hank watches as his Ds are ground into a big salami, and this particular salami is being made for a very important client. How will Hank get out of this one?
For Hank, fourth grade does not start out on the right foot. First of all, he gets called to the principal's office on the very first day of school.
Then the first assignment his teacher gives him is to write five paragraphs on "What You Did This Summer." Hank is terrified-writing one good sentence is hard
for him, so how in the world is he going to write five whole paragraphs? Hank comes up with a plan: instead of writing what he did on vacation, he'll show what
he did. But when Hank's "living essay" becomes a living disaster, he finds himself in detention. Strangely enough, however, detention ends up becoming a turning
point in his life.
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