Tuesday, 2 July 2024

Radio Fifth Grade - Gordon Korman

Radio Fifth Grade
Gordon Korman
ISBN 9780590419277

Radio Fifth Grade - Gordon Korman

Originally published in 1989 this was seventh standalone novel written by Korman, and it was the fourteenth novel he published. It is a laugh out loud tail, um I mean tale. A few years ago mid-summer, Korman published his 100th book. Yes, you read that correctly, his hundredth book. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then, I have read over 40 of his books. With each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. My son often reads these books to me or with me. I picked up this to read because I am alternating between his oldest and newest as I work through his complete works. 

A description of this volume states:

“Mayhem breaks out in the fifth grade when the Venice Menace bullies his classmates into letting him become a regular guest on "Kidsview," the school's radio program. Benjy Driver dreams of becoming a big-time radio announcer. He gets an opportunity to develop his skills on a radio show produced by kids and aired every Saturday afternoon from the local station. Classic Korman hilarity ensues as a talking parrot says all the wrong things, a hair dryer jams radios and traffic lights, and a school bully writes stories about two kittens named Fuzzy and Puffy...but not the kind of stories that should be read on air!”

This is a really fun story. I am greatly enjoying some of these earlier Korman works. This is a hilarious story of a school radio show that is trying to just stay on the air. They have do jump through hoops and just a bit of sabotage to try and keep the ratings up, the station happy, and the sponsor paying the bills. But with a parrot who keeps picking the incorrect phrases to repeat and say on air. A school bully writing story after story to be read on air. A classmate focused on doom and gloom of all that can go wrong. And a new teacher they are trying to keep from catching the program It proves a lot for three youngsters to juggle. 

This is a great story about friends, friendships, and finding your place in the world. Korman is one of the all-time masters of the School Story and this is another excellent offering. I just wish Scholastic would release eBooks of these older titles by Korman. A great read I can easily recommend. 

Radio Fifth Grade - Gordon Korman

Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)

Some Gordon Korman Books


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