My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote That Almost Got Me Killed

by Peter Hannan

A hilarious illustrated novel by Peter Hannan -- writer, artist, & producer.

Davis Delaware is not from Delaware. But try telling that to everyone at his new school. When you move in the middle of ninth grade, people are going to think whatever they want about you. If they pay attention at all.

Blending in is fine with Davis. He just wants to doodle in his notebook. Make a few friends. Not rock the boat.

Easier said than done.

Because when he starts a band called The Amazing Dweebs with beautiful Molly and nerdy Edwin, Davis rocks the boat big-time. And all that rocking gets the attention of school bully Gerald "the Butcher" Boggs. Now Davis is suddenly king of the school -- and the Butcher's next target.

This can't end well.

This illustrated middle-grade novel from CATDOG creator Peter Hannan is packed with doodles, song lyrics, notebook pages, a mini flip book -- and lots of laughs.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Music, Middle Grade, Teen

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

PETER HANNAN is a writer, producer, creator, author/illustrator, and artist. He is the creator and executive producer of the Nickelodeon animated series, CatDog. He wrote and sang the CatDog theme song, which he will sing for you even if you don’t technically ask him to. He has developed properties for numerous studios and is currently working on a variety of film,TV, game, and book projects., including a new animated show in development called Dead Pets Society. Other stuff: Really Freaking Embarrassing, The Adventures of a Huge Mouth, My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote That Almost Got Me Killed, The Greatest Snowman in the World, Freddy, King of Flurb, The Sillyville Saga, and the forthcoming Petlandia, a book about a group of house pets who stage a revolution, kick out their human oppressors, and declare the house a sovereign nation.That's when the real trouble starts. He has done tons of illustrations and cartoons for magazines, newspapers, and advertising. He has exhibited paintings, illustrations, and cartoons lots of places. His work has been transformed into everything from toys to t-shirts to cheese crackers. He teaches at Arizona State University. He lives in sunny California and sunnier Arizona.

Reviews

[Ethan Heo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My big mouth, well that explains it. The main character, Davis, creates a band. But the more popular you are, the more people think and notice you. Not all people who do are good. Gerald, a bully tries to-do what a bully does- and tries to ruin Davis as Davis is the most popular student. What I like about this book is that it shows how Davis deals with bullying. I also like how I saw how other students reacted to it. Overall this book was easy to relate to and I really liked the ending. I recommend this book for most middle schoolers and high schoolers.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be about a big mouth, but it clearly has an even bigger heart. But don't let that discourage middle schoolers from reading this....it is very, very funny! Peter Hannan brings his talents as a cartoonist and lyricist together to create a well realized snapshot of one boy's agony and ecstasy while navigating a new town and new school. Read the book and have a laugh.

[Steven B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is funny, fun, and cool. If you've ever played an instrument, wrote a song, tried to write a song, tried to start a band, heard a song, or fallen in love with that girl in school who will haunt your life forever read this.

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should I agree have been set in middle school as it feels like the kids are 7th-8th grade... It's fun though... Did not at all like the ending, though I will say it was not predictable...

Song "full of bleep" among other things probably makes it a hs book for some...

[Parker Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Really funny and emotionally satisfying. Loved the characters, the drawings, and the writing. I highly recommend it.

[Hanna Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. Words cannot express how irritatingly stupid and random it was. The plot and characters were all over the place.

[Kevin Benoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: My Big Mouth, author :Peter Hannan , Publisher: scholastic press,place: School, publication date July 2011,pages;235,price ; US $16.99.


My big mouth book is a very good book for readers who like high school life and people that are ages 16 and under.

I honestly like the book it gave a good understanding of how high school can be.

This book is my favorite book because of how many causes and effects this book has.

This book can be a good book for kids in school but I don’t recommend adults reading it unless if you really want to.

[Susan B · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book foryour boys

[Andy Ayala]

I think this is something us teens could relate to it i loved it!

[Janice Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a certain age (Gr 6 or 7) might find this funny, especially if you are a male. It didn’t work for me, but I know some males who would laugh at it.

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

** Spoiler Alert ** Have you ever liked a girl and her boy friend was the biggest bully in the whole school, well Davis has and i'm going to tell you what he went threw.The Genre of the book is realistic fiction because this can occur and if you don't believe me then read my review. I think this but is very funny for any middle school student because some student can relate. This book has a lot of twists that will be explained later.

This book is about a boy named Davis Delaware and no he's not from Delaware, which is one of the most said jokes in this story.Davis is new in town and he likes Molly but Molly's boy friend is the butcher, the butcher is the biggest bully in the school. The plot of this story is that Davis wanted to date Molly,So when Davis was at lunch he over heard Molly and Edwin talking about starting a band so he tells them that he was in a band at his old school. The reason Davis moved was because his mom died so his dad wanted to get a fresh start. Edwin is Davis's good friend not best but good Davis is annoyed by how much Edwin talks but he got use to it. Molly is Edwin's best friend and they've know each other since they were babies. The conflict of this book is person vs person because Davis and the butcher aka ( Gerald but don't call him that, he will hurt you) have a fight and the butcher hunts him down threw out the whole story and if you believe it Edwin actually stopped the drama between them but brought it on to himself.

I personally think the Author portrayed Molly as flirty type of girl because she kissed Davis While she was dating the butcher then she kisses Edwin and im just like WHAT! But besides that i love this book its very funny lots of jokes and middle school students could really relate to the drama and the bullies and the truth coming out just like when Davis's Journal gets showed to every one and they see all they bad drawings he made of people.Sometimes people wish they can change what they did but the truth is that you can't you just have to stop and think about what you do because you change what you do before you do but never after. Edwin's love for Molly Confused me at first but it wasn't surprising because he seems like the kind of friend that is cool with you but then they like the same girl as you then they take your girl.

I was angry about that the author left me off with a Cliff Hanger when Davis former bully Sally Bean but she was way different and she said and I quote At least i don't hate you well not as much then Davis smiled.My favorite part was when Davis Poked The Butcher in they eye laughed so hard, but the butcher kinda deserved it he's the size of Gorilla like i'm not kidding he actually is.

So in conclusion I would rate this 5 out of 5 because this book can relate to things that other kids go threw and its very funny.I would recommend this book for any middle school student because they can relate to what happens to Davis. So if you ever have secrets that you only know dont like the biggest bully in the schools boyfriend but if you do DON'T and know i have to go correct Davis's name because I i probably put david so i hope you enjoyed this book review good bye

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Big Mouth
Imagine being the new kid at school. Your mom has just died, and you’ve moved to a new city. You have no friends, a dad that doesn’t understand you, a crush on the most beautiful girl in school, and are the target of a menacing bully. This is what it is like for Davis Delaware-who is not from Delaware- in My Big Mouth. This book was written by Peter Hannan and published in 2011 by Scholastic Press in New York. It is realistic fiction and has 235 pages. Hannan creates an interesting book by utilizing characterization, setting, and plot.
The main character in My Big Mouth is a guitar playing ninth grader named Davis Delaware. At the beginning of the book, he is quiet, and doesn’t attract much attention. Then, he decides to start a band. The most beautiful girl in school agrees to be the lead singer. He writes songs and turns them in as poems in his English class. He becomes a prodigy-according to his teacher- and all of his classmates admire him. He goes from being the unpopular new kid to a person everyone knows and adores. Hannan makes him this way so teenagers will like his character, Davis, as most teenagers want to be popular or well-liked. Davis’s fame around the school grows more and more. The author made Davis start as a nobody and become a popular kid so teenagers would want to be like him and try to relate to him. This change in Davis adds more problems to the plot which makes the story more interesting.
Hannan sets this story in places all teenagers can relate to. It takes place at Davis’s house and his neighborhood, but mainly at his high school. Even though every high school is different, teenagers can still relate to the environment. There are always cool kids, nerds, etc. There are teachers that kids like, and those that they don’t. There are problems, disputes, disagreements, and drama in high school. The characters in My Big Mouth have to deal with these things. This makes them more realistic. They have crushes, friends and enemies. Even though they are characters in a book, kids can still relate to them because they are put in some real world situations.
Davis’s rise in popularity adds problems to the plot. He becomes the target of the school bully, the Butcher. Davis has a crush on Molly, who appears to like him. However, because of the Butcher’s threats, he reluctantly pretends like he doesn’t care for her. Davis gets sick the night before his band’s big performance and can barely even speak. Davis’s luck keeps on changing; one minute he’s nobody, the next he’s on top of the world, and then he’s lower than ever. This makes for an interesting plot and keeps you sympathetic to the young teenage boy.
My Big Mouth by Peter Hannan is an interesting and humorous book because of his fantastic characters, setting, and plot. With an unseen ending, this story is interesting and entertaining. It doesn’t take too long to read, so it’s a good book if you want a fairly quick, enjoyable story.

[Rachael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote That Almost Got Me Killed
Peter Hannan
Realistic Fiction
240 pages
9/17/12

My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote That Almost Got Me Killed is about a boy named Davis Delaware. He is going into the 9th grade and he just moved to a new school. He plays the guitar and sadly his mom dies 2 years before. Davis is just like every kid he has a huge crush on the most popular girl in the school that doesn't know he exists. He has no friends except this boy named Edwin. All Davis does is doodle in his notebook. He has about 100 little songs in his notebook. One time when he was at lunch he herd his crush (Molly) and his friend Edwin talking about making a band. Davis spun around and said that he plays guitar. Molly said they should meet and Edwin's house. They met one night there a practiced a song that Davis wrote in his notebook. Molly and Edwin loved it and pronounced that they are a band. Davis said that they needed a name so they were named the amazing dweebs. Later on in the book Davis stands up to the bully and he also kisses Molly. At the end Edwin confronts that he has been in love with Molly for as long as he knew her. So Molly kissed him. When Davis was leaving he saw a girl that was really pretty. She walked up to him and said her name and he recognized it. When he was in kindergarten there was a bully named Susy. She bullied him and she wasn't pretty at all. Davis was very shocked at her appearance and they talked and then later on they went out.

My rating on this book is 3 stars because it went back and forth of his past and his present time. It got very confusing.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ninth grader Davis Delaware moves to a new school in the middle of the year. Still recovering from the death of his mother, he isn't particularly thrilled with the move, but at least it will give him a chance to leave behind his reputation as a wuss and the boy who peed on a girl while going down a playground slide. This incident prompted classmates to post "Urine Trouble" signs on his back. Inexplicably, he starts a band--the Amazing Dweebs--with Molly, the coolest girl in school, and Edwin, the smartest boy in class. When his poetic side and his ability to write song lyrics are recognized, Davis starts believing in happily ever after. But wait! There's just a little--er, make that, a rather big--problem. The school bully, Gerald (The Butcher)Boggs, is Molly's boyfriend, and he doesn't take too kindly to the oh-so-obvious crush Davis has on her. As the story moves to its probable conclusion, readers will enjoy the cartoons sprinkled throughout the book as well as the song lyrics, many of which express the fates many bullied kids might wish on those who torture them. There are some surprises and much hilarity in a book that is certain to appeal those who enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

[Trisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a little torn with this book.

I liked the pictures, even though they were pretty juvenile. Most of them were silly and tied in well with the story.
And the story was cute - a kind of love story, kind of down-on-his luck kind of kid - Dweebs trying to rise above all the torture & bullying of school and be so uncool they are cool..

But, I'm torn because....I can't tell who the target audience for this book is. It was pretty juvenile silly stories, but there was swearing (just a little, but it was there) and talk of Whiskey.
The pictures and story make me think I could hand it to almost 6th graders, but I don't think the swearing or the drinking references (the kids are joking, but....is this really what we want them joking about??) are appropriate for that age range.

And I think a middle school kid would be bored with the juvenile nature of the book. Maybe not....this was just my impression.

[Krys (Krys Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Via Black 'n Write Review
My final thoughts:
This is a really quick read! It reminded me frequently of Diary of Wimpy Kid with its random doodlings, funky names and just overall randomness. The story is super simple about teen romance, heartbreak, trials and troubles. Davis is your typical teenager. Defiant, rebellious, trying to be seen with making one. He’s a love-sick puppy for a girl who loves to play mind games and he apparently “kisses like a fish”.

The characters are nicely developed and like earlier, simple. You can’t go wrong with this book as it is humourous and makes for very little ho-huming. The pages include fun doodles, flip-book art in the corner of the book, and notebook style notes from crumpled papers. Light and simple, awesome book for somebody who has a couple of hours to spare!
- Krys

[Leeann Sheriff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Davis Delaware is from NJ. Trying to fit in to the new school. There has never been another band besides Gerald "The Butcher". Molly, Edwin and him form the Dweeds and enter into the contest at he docks where Davis will be tested with his talent.
Gerald is the mean bully in school and dating Molly. He clashes with Davis thinking that He is trying to take his girlfriend from him.
He writes poems and uses them for songs but also likes to draw pictures of people. Gerald and his crew get a hold of Davis' notebooks and passes them around so everyone can see the drawings of what Davis thought of them. When Gerald realized that people were not as mad as He thought, He ended up being seen in a different light.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A happy medium between Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Davis is the new kid at school and going through a major life change after losing his mother. His refuge is drawing and writing songs for his band "The Amazing Dweebs." Everything that can go wrong for him does and he still manages to keep his sense of humor. I was thinking that this book was going to go where a million other coming-of-age books have gone before, but I was surprised and delighted at the end. This story just confirms what we all know...that high school is something to be survived.

Thank you goodreads and Scholastic for my advanced copy.

[Nancy Sebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This YA book is interesting because it is similar to the text and graphics of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid style, but the main character is a freshman, new to town, likes to doodle, make flip books, and write songs that are somewhat poetic, all of which is included in the telling of the story. I liked the book most of the way, because his angst about liking a girl, forming a band, and coping with a new school after his mom's death, and a school bully were believable. Then it became too silly, with his sickness, the band concert, and the girl's relationships, which were ridiculous. I think this would appeal to middle of the road readers who like pictures along with text.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read-alike for Wimpy Kid followers with lots of clever drawings, but a step up as far as reading level and content goes.

Davis has moved to a new town and a new school. He sees this as the perfect opportunity to create a new image and make new friends. He overhears a conversation between a cute girl and another guy about starting a band, so he pushes past his shyness and approaches them about it. The 3 of them do start a band and things start to happen, especially things involving the school bully who just so happens to be in the school's only other band and also seems to have some sort of relationship with the girl in Davis's band.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Entertaining, but not needed; is the phrase that best describes this book. It reminded me of the series Dork Diaries in a boys perspective. It said that this story was good for middle schoolers, but I would say that 4-6 graders would enjoy it a lot more. I recently lent this book to a middle-schooler who seemed to really enjoy it, so I am adding an extra star.

[Kat Drennan-Scace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute/funny book that sort of reminded me of Swim the Fly Swim the Fly and seemed like the big brother of Diary of a Wimpy Kid too.

It was a cute story - boy in grade 9 starts a new school and falls for a girl. He starts a band to win her over, of course and hilarity ensues.

Recommended to middle school boys, though I think girls will like it too - I did!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part was his realization at the end that, "When something bad happens, people always say that someday you'll look back at it and laugh. All of a sudden, someday was here. We were both laughing, and that terrible shared memory no only seemed funny, it almost seemed good."

The format seems to be borrowing from the wimpy kid format.

Middle schoolers will probably find the book hilarious.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students who liked Diary of A Wimpy Kid might appreciate this book. It is about a ninth grade boy who struggles with his mother's death, a new school, girls, bullies, and trying to create a new reputation for himself. It is comically written and middle grade students will enjoy the illustrations and wit of Davis Delaware.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is entertaining and funny and perfect for upper middle grade readers. My son is not an avid reader much to my dismay but when he saw this book in the store he requested I buy it for him. He read it from cover to cover and is now asking for more from this same author! Thank you Peter Hannan!

[orangerful · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really quick read and perfect for that Wimpy Kid fan who has moved into the perilous world of high school. Davis Delaware is a very realistic and likeable character. The book is a very quick read, lots of doodles drawn on the pages to make it feel like a journal (the author used to work for Nickelodeon).

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this. I am definitely giving this book to my nephew..He could definitely relate to this...I think as far as a middle school aged book is concerned this is right on. It was light and funny. And why not as told in the eyes of a middle schooler.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a "laugh-out-loud" read for 8th and 9th graders. This could be the "Wimpy Kid Diary" book for the older adolescents. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I loved the illustrations. Even the one book review of it was funny.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had potential and a great start with good humor, new kid in school with a bully on him story, cute girl, etc. but it got kind of lame. I'll still recommend it to eager boy readers because I think boys could identify with this likable kid and the situations he ends up in.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had it's good moments, but it doesn't feel like it came from someone with a child's heart. It reads more like an adult remembering being bullied, and trying to write about it from a teen's perspective.