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Macdonald Hall/Bruno & Boots #3
Beware the Fish!
Macdonald High is having some serious cash flow problems. Everything is being cut back – evening snack is gone, the lab equipment is decrepit and the dorms are freezing at night. Worst of all, Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are being moved in with Elmer Drimsdale – the science geek. There's even talk of Macdonald Hall being put up for sale! Could this be the end of Canada's finest boarding school or do Bruno and Boots have a plan?
175 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
22 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Korman
251 books4,433 followersGordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
November 26, 2022
Such hilarious stories!I loved this whole series during my tween years and even my kids too a generation later :)
August 19, 2018
Of the three Gordon Korman MadDonald Hall boarding school stories that I read as a teenager, Beware the Fish! (the third novel) is the one I think have always enjoyed the most (and I actually still own my 1980 paperback copy that I bought from Scholastic at school, with this here very book cover, showing the explosion of the MadDonald Hall high jump pit in the background, after Miss Scrimmage's shotgun blast sets off Elmer's buried science experiments, his research equipment, chemicals and such).
Now I really do enjoy and massively appreciate that in Beware the Fish! Bruno, Boots, Elmer (that in fact almost the entire student body of MacDonald Hall) will basically do almost ANYTHING to try to keep their beloved boarding school from going broke, from closing down (and furthermore, it is certainly also much more cheering and pleasant to read about students wanting to help save their school than about students despising school and constantly denigrating both it and their teachers). But while the projects Bruno and Boots consider all and sundry fail to work (with generally hilariously disastrous consequences) and might appear even rather foolish and silly to today's more technologically savvy and jaded children, I can from personal and cultural background experience truthfully claim that during the late 1970s and early 1980s (and indeed Beware the Fish! was originally penned in 1980), getting oneself noticed by breaking a world record was often discussed and also seen as a way of possibly obtaining both fame and fortune, and indeed, someone taking over a television station from afar (like Elmer manages to inadvertently achieve with his video machine) was a common theme (especially in superhero cartoons) and actually something that I know I personally did consider as a possibility for terrorism and thus more than a bit worrisome. And while of course, knowing the background of why "The Fish" keeps appearing on people's television screens and laughing myself silly because of this, and totally enjoying the ridiculous, slapstick funny cat-and-mouse game of RCMP officer Featherstone and OPP officer Hamilton, the entire scenario of Elmer's video experiment actually hijacking and consistently overpowering the CHUT TV transmitter definitely was a very common enough 1970s and 1980s literary and media trope and as such quite realistic at that (which in my opinion equally goes for Elmer's common cold cure that ends up majorly intoxicating Hamilton Hall's athletic coach, as yes, the idea of ingesting something that inadvertently makes one drunk was and in fact still is commonly used in especially children's literature, I mean one just has to look at the infamous raspberry cordial episode of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables).
Now truth be told with Beware the Fish!, I actually most appreciate that while ALL of Bruno's and Boots' projects and ploys to make money, to raise funds for their financially strapped school seemingly fail most miserably, MacDonald Hall is still saved because the publicity created by Elmer's video machine fiasco, the albeit silly and prone to a multitude of accidents investigation of why and how "The Fish" was appearing on local television sets, all of this very obviously and publicly demonstrates how much MacDonald Hall as a school is loved by both its students and Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School For Girls across the road (so that, a bit unbelievably, albeit appreciatively), many parents immediately flock to enrol their boys at Macdonald Hall and the financial crisis has therefore been deus ex machina like averted (oh and Miss Scrimmage with her shotgun, while I do sometimes cringe a bit with regard to this, she is ALWAYS shown by Gordon Korman as at best ridiculously foolish and her owning a gun is never ever portrayed as in any fashion positive, but always as totally negative, so negative and silly, so dangerously unhinged is Miss Scrimmage with her shotgun depicted in fact that the NRA would probably be frothing at the mouth at her gun waving and toting portrayal in the MacDonald Hall novels).
Highly recommended (but again, I would absolutely NOT in any manner of speaking suggest reading the recently updated versions of the MadDonald Hall series, as it is the lack of technology and how both readers and characters approach new technology such as Elmer's video machine that makes Beware the Fish! both so entertaining and such a wonderful document of time and place, which is kind of destroyed in the recent updates, for if Bruno, Boots, Elmer etc. all use computers, emails, cell phones and such, why would Elmer's new video machine creation be all that spectacular and novel, why would it be such an exciting and "new" gadget).
Now I really do enjoy and massively appreciate that in Beware the Fish! Bruno, Boots, Elmer (that in fact almost the entire student body of MacDonald Hall) will basically do almost ANYTHING to try to keep their beloved boarding school from going broke, from closing down (and furthermore, it is certainly also much more cheering and pleasant to read about students wanting to help save their school than about students despising school and constantly denigrating both it and their teachers). But while the projects Bruno and Boots consider all and sundry fail to work (with generally hilariously disastrous consequences) and might appear even rather foolish and silly to today's more technologically savvy and jaded children, I can from personal and cultural background experience truthfully claim that during the late 1970s and early 1980s (and indeed Beware the Fish! was originally penned in 1980), getting oneself noticed by breaking a world record was often discussed and also seen as a way of possibly obtaining both fame and fortune, and indeed, someone taking over a television station from afar (like Elmer manages to inadvertently achieve with his video machine) was a common theme (especially in superhero cartoons) and actually something that I know I personally did consider as a possibility for terrorism and thus more than a bit worrisome. And while of course, knowing the background of why "The Fish" keeps appearing on people's television screens and laughing myself silly because of this, and totally enjoying the ridiculous, slapstick funny cat-and-mouse game of RCMP officer Featherstone and OPP officer Hamilton, the entire scenario of Elmer's video experiment actually hijacking and consistently overpowering the CHUT TV transmitter definitely was a very common enough 1970s and 1980s literary and media trope and as such quite realistic at that (which in my opinion equally goes for Elmer's common cold cure that ends up majorly intoxicating Hamilton Hall's athletic coach, as yes, the idea of ingesting something that inadvertently makes one drunk was and in fact still is commonly used in especially children's literature, I mean one just has to look at the infamous raspberry cordial episode of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables).
Now truth be told with Beware the Fish!, I actually most appreciate that while ALL of Bruno's and Boots' projects and ploys to make money, to raise funds for their financially strapped school seemingly fail most miserably, MacDonald Hall is still saved because the publicity created by Elmer's video machine fiasco, the albeit silly and prone to a multitude of accidents investigation of why and how "The Fish" was appearing on local television sets, all of this very obviously and publicly demonstrates how much MacDonald Hall as a school is loved by both its students and Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School For Girls across the road (so that, a bit unbelievably, albeit appreciatively), many parents immediately flock to enrol their boys at Macdonald Hall and the financial crisis has therefore been deus ex machina like averted (oh and Miss Scrimmage with her shotgun, while I do sometimes cringe a bit with regard to this, she is ALWAYS shown by Gordon Korman as at best ridiculously foolish and her owning a gun is never ever portrayed as in any fashion positive, but always as totally negative, so negative and silly, so dangerously unhinged is Miss Scrimmage with her shotgun depicted in fact that the NRA would probably be frothing at the mouth at her gun waving and toting portrayal in the MacDonald Hall novels).
Highly recommended (but again, I would absolutely NOT in any manner of speaking suggest reading the recently updated versions of the MadDonald Hall series, as it is the lack of technology and how both readers and characters approach new technology such as Elmer's video machine that makes Beware the Fish! both so entertaining and such a wonderful document of time and place, which is kind of destroyed in the recent updates, for if Bruno, Boots, Elmer etc. all use computers, emails, cell phones and such, why would Elmer's new video machine creation be all that spectacular and novel, why would it be such an exciting and "new" gadget).
April 2, 2012
This is what the last week at work has reduced me to. Hopefully my brain power will return soon, but until then, I really do love Boots and Bruno. Spending my lunch hour in the car reading YA is such a stress reliever. In college I used to sneak to the children's floor while studying in the library during finals week to read Junie B. Jones.
This isn't the best MacDonald Hall book, but really, who cares?
This isn't the best MacDonald Hall book, but really, who cares?
June 28, 2025
eponymous sentence:
p28: "...Beware the Fish!"
The boys attract even the RCMPs now.
p28: "...Beware the Fish!"
The boys attract even the RCMPs now.
October 3, 2023
This book was the third published by Gordon Korman, it was published it when Korman was in Grade 12. Mid Last year, in 2022, Korman published his 100th book. Yes you read that correctly, his hundredth book. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then, I have read over 35 of his books. Barely a drop in the buck, but 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 on my own to continue where it all began. I am currently bouncing around several of his series and from his most recent to oldest books.
My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together a few years ago, when he was given one as an end of year gift by his teacher. She gave the whole class the same Scholastic edition and wrote a note to each student in their copy of the book. Prior to that I had a read a few of his contributions to the 39 Clues series and had enjoyed them. After reading book 1 in the Bruno and Boots or MacDonald Hall series I was hooked and know I will be reading all the volumes that Korman has written. And maybe trying to track down some of the older editions before there were updated. The series consists of:
This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall
Go Jump in the Pool
Beware the Fish!
The Wizzle War
(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle )
The Zucchini Warriors
Light’s Camera, Disaster
(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us
(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)
Book 6 was renamed in 2003 the stories were originally published between 1978 and 1995, though some have been rewritten to be more up to date. Three of the original 7 have been renamed at some point over the years. It should also be noted that the series was originally called Bruno & Boots and later rebranded MacDonald Hall. But back to the volume at hand. The current description of this volume is:
“Macdonald Hall's ivy-covered buildings have housed and educated many fine young Canadians. But Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are far from being fine young Canadians. The roommates and best friends are nothing but trouble! Together they've snuck out after lights-out, swapped flags, kidnapped mascots . . . and that's only the beginning.
Macdonald High is having some serious cash flow problems. Everything is being cut back - evening snack is gone, the lab equipment is decrepit and the dorms are freezing at night. Worst of all, Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are being moved in with Elmer Drimsdale - the science geek. There's even talk of Macdonald Hall being put up for sale! Could this be the end of Canada's finest boarding school or do Bruno and Boots have a plan?
Join two of Gordon Korman's most memorable characters in seven side-splitting, rip-roaring adventures! Macdonald Hall is the series that started it all, and thirty-five years later it remains a must-read for old fans and new, the young - and the young at heart.”
The chapters in this volume are:
Dedication
Beware The Fish!
1: Much Ado About Spinach
2: I Never Get Caught
3: Attention, World!
4: We’re Looking Into It
5: Room 13
6: An Uncommon Cure
7: Operation Popcan
8: A Question of Ownership
9: Euclid is Putrid
10: But Will It Fly?
11: In the Name of the Law
12: Take Cover!
13: Hot Gazoobies!
14: Featherstone Out
This is followed by a preview of the next volume. If I had not known this was Korman’s third novel I would have been very surprised when I found that out. This story came out the same year as Who is Bugs Potter?, and a year before Korman’s first standalone story, I Want to Go Home!. Now yes the story has been updated some over the years but the whole story is wonderfully written. Korman is truly a master of the Middle Grade and even Young Adult genres, his books are amazing for kids, tweens and teens. And even some of us older readers. C.S. Lewis in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature stated:
“It is very rarely that a middle-aged man finds an author who gives him, what he knew so often in his teens and twenties, the sense of having opened a new door.”
I said in a previous review that Korman accomplishes that in this and all of his other books I have read. This was another excellent read! And is a critical piece of his canon. For many authors have a great first work and often it is not followed up well or even at all. And Korman did it while in Secondary School himself. This one is deeper than the earlier 2. And yet it is still a great fun read.
Bruno and Boots have a knack for creating trouble, and for not getting caught. This time they are on a mission to raise save the school. They have heard through the grapevine that the school is in financial troubles. And that a developer is coming to look at the property. Bruno and Boots will not stand for this, they love MacDonald Hall and get all the other boys in on the plans. They need to make the school famous so that enrollment will go up and it will stay open. The story begins with this:
“BEWARE THE FISH!
THE FISH:
William R. Sturgeon, Headmaster of Macdonald Hall, a kind, understanding, yet firm administrator who is secretly very fond of his students.
THE FISH:
An underground criminal leader who is using public communications to send messages to members of his evil organization.
THE FISH:
A large labelled diagram of the Pacific salmon that hangs on the wall in the room of eccentric genius Elmer Drimsdale.”
And as much as they struggle with William R. Sturgeon, Headmaster of Macdonald Hall, and his rules. They truly love going to this school. With the aid of the girls from Miss Scrimmage’s Finishing School across the road, they hatch plan after plan. And as each one fails. Their hopes are dashed just a little bit. But Bruno does not know how to give up:
“Bruno stood up. “Well, it’s started, hasn’t it? It’s the beginning of the end.” He looked reproachfully at Wilbur and the others. “And you guys have the nerve to complain! I wasn’t trying to make you miserable! I was trying to save the Hall!” He pounded the table. “But it’s not too late! We may have lost a battle, but the war’s not over yet! Where would we be if Champlain had packed up and left because it got too cold here? Where would we be if Alexander Graham Bell had given up after the first wrong number?”
Bruno’s face was red. All eyes were on him. “So we’ve had a little setback! Good men don’t lie down and die because of one failure! If Macdonald Hall was worth the effort Friday night, it’s worth the effort now! By being out all night, our guys beat the system, and we can beat this developer too! We’re going to convince him that this is the last place anybody would want to build condos! We’ll chase him right back where he came from, and then some! We can defeat our enemies! We can overcome anything if we work at it! I know we can!”
Out of breath, he sat down amid thunderous applause from all present. Boys were standing on their chairs and chanting, “Can do! Can do!” In a far corner of the room, someone was leading a chorus of “We Shall Overcome.” Arms reached out to pat Bruno on the back.”
Can they pull it off? To find out you will need to read the book! The characters are wonderfully written. It is a very fun story guaranteed to entertain the young and the young at heart! It is another excellent read from Korman’s masterful pen! And the third story that started it all! A great read, I can easily recommend this book and series!
My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together a few years ago, when he was given one as an end of year gift by his teacher. She gave the whole class the same Scholastic edition and wrote a note to each student in their copy of the book. Prior to that I had a read a few of his contributions to the 39 Clues series and had enjoyed them. After reading book 1 in the Bruno and Boots or MacDonald Hall series I was hooked and know I will be reading all the volumes that Korman has written. And maybe trying to track down some of the older editions before there were updated. The series consists of:
This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall
Go Jump in the Pool
Beware the Fish!
The Wizzle War
(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle )
The Zucchini Warriors
Light’s Camera, Disaster
(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us
(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)
Book 6 was renamed in 2003 the stories were originally published between 1978 and 1995, though some have been rewritten to be more up to date. Three of the original 7 have been renamed at some point over the years. It should also be noted that the series was originally called Bruno & Boots and later rebranded MacDonald Hall. But back to the volume at hand. The current description of this volume is:
“Macdonald Hall's ivy-covered buildings have housed and educated many fine young Canadians. But Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are far from being fine young Canadians. The roommates and best friends are nothing but trouble! Together they've snuck out after lights-out, swapped flags, kidnapped mascots . . . and that's only the beginning.
Macdonald High is having some serious cash flow problems. Everything is being cut back - evening snack is gone, the lab equipment is decrepit and the dorms are freezing at night. Worst of all, Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are being moved in with Elmer Drimsdale - the science geek. There's even talk of Macdonald Hall being put up for sale! Could this be the end of Canada's finest boarding school or do Bruno and Boots have a plan?
Join two of Gordon Korman's most memorable characters in seven side-splitting, rip-roaring adventures! Macdonald Hall is the series that started it all, and thirty-five years later it remains a must-read for old fans and new, the young - and the young at heart.”
The chapters in this volume are:
Dedication
Beware The Fish!
1: Much Ado About Spinach
2: I Never Get Caught
3: Attention, World!
4: We’re Looking Into It
5: Room 13
6: An Uncommon Cure
7: Operation Popcan
8: A Question of Ownership
9: Euclid is Putrid
10: But Will It Fly?
11: In the Name of the Law
12: Take Cover!
13: Hot Gazoobies!
14: Featherstone Out
This is followed by a preview of the next volume. If I had not known this was Korman’s third novel I would have been very surprised when I found that out. This story came out the same year as Who is Bugs Potter?, and a year before Korman’s first standalone story, I Want to Go Home!. Now yes the story has been updated some over the years but the whole story is wonderfully written. Korman is truly a master of the Middle Grade and even Young Adult genres, his books are amazing for kids, tweens and teens. And even some of us older readers. C.S. Lewis in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature stated:
“It is very rarely that a middle-aged man finds an author who gives him, what he knew so often in his teens and twenties, the sense of having opened a new door.”
I said in a previous review that Korman accomplishes that in this and all of his other books I have read. This was another excellent read! And is a critical piece of his canon. For many authors have a great first work and often it is not followed up well or even at all. And Korman did it while in Secondary School himself. This one is deeper than the earlier 2. And yet it is still a great fun read.
Bruno and Boots have a knack for creating trouble, and for not getting caught. This time they are on a mission to raise save the school. They have heard through the grapevine that the school is in financial troubles. And that a developer is coming to look at the property. Bruno and Boots will not stand for this, they love MacDonald Hall and get all the other boys in on the plans. They need to make the school famous so that enrollment will go up and it will stay open. The story begins with this:
“BEWARE THE FISH!
THE FISH:
William R. Sturgeon, Headmaster of Macdonald Hall, a kind, understanding, yet firm administrator who is secretly very fond of his students.
THE FISH:
An underground criminal leader who is using public communications to send messages to members of his evil organization.
THE FISH:
A large labelled diagram of the Pacific salmon that hangs on the wall in the room of eccentric genius Elmer Drimsdale.”
And as much as they struggle with William R. Sturgeon, Headmaster of Macdonald Hall, and his rules. They truly love going to this school. With the aid of the girls from Miss Scrimmage’s Finishing School across the road, they hatch plan after plan. And as each one fails. Their hopes are dashed just a little bit. But Bruno does not know how to give up:
“Bruno stood up. “Well, it’s started, hasn’t it? It’s the beginning of the end.” He looked reproachfully at Wilbur and the others. “And you guys have the nerve to complain! I wasn’t trying to make you miserable! I was trying to save the Hall!” He pounded the table. “But it’s not too late! We may have lost a battle, but the war’s not over yet! Where would we be if Champlain had packed up and left because it got too cold here? Where would we be if Alexander Graham Bell had given up after the first wrong number?”
Bruno’s face was red. All eyes were on him. “So we’ve had a little setback! Good men don’t lie down and die because of one failure! If Macdonald Hall was worth the effort Friday night, it’s worth the effort now! By being out all night, our guys beat the system, and we can beat this developer too! We’re going to convince him that this is the last place anybody would want to build condos! We’ll chase him right back where he came from, and then some! We can defeat our enemies! We can overcome anything if we work at it! I know we can!”
Out of breath, he sat down amid thunderous applause from all present. Boys were standing on their chairs and chanting, “Can do! Can do!” In a far corner of the room, someone was leading a chorus of “We Shall Overcome.” Arms reached out to pat Bruno on the back.”
Can they pull it off? To find out you will need to read the book! The characters are wonderfully written. It is a very fun story guaranteed to entertain the young and the young at heart! It is another excellent read from Korman’s masterful pen! And the third story that started it all! A great read, I can easily recommend this book and series!
July 5, 2007
I was telling a friend about the MacDonald Hall series and specifically, how uproariously hilarious I found Beware the Fish!. She commented that it seems that the series is the perfect summer read and that's it, the MacDonald Hall is the perfect summer read, light-hearted, hassle-free fun.
I felt like the plot was better executed and the characters more developed. They didn't felt flat like sometimes they did in This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall and so I was more invested in the characters.
I felt like the plot was better executed and the characters more developed. They didn't felt flat like sometimes they did in This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall and so I was more invested in the characters.
November 12, 2017
MacDonald Hall is in financial difficulties and might be sold. Bruno and Boots attempt various mad ways to get their school famous (inventing a cure for the common cold just gets their gym teacher drunk; spending all night collecting cans to create a pyramid for a world record) and to discourage potential buyers (including but not limited to creating the worst and noisiest school band ever). The real star of this book is Elmer, their weirdo scientific genius of a roommate.
December 26, 2014
Dec. 2014 - A very good book to read (especially just before going to bed, after having read another book, about the beheading of Lady Jane Grey). This story had me smiling and laughing. Even as an adult, I can appreciate the humour of Gordon Korman.
-------------------------------------
2008 - Giggles galore! I'm glad I reread this. Every bit as funny as when I first read it in grade school; I had forgotten some of the parts, so there were still plenty of surprises.
-------------------------------------
2008 - Giggles galore! I'm glad I reread this. Every bit as funny as when I first read it in grade school; I had forgotten some of the parts, so there were still plenty of surprises.
January 1, 2008
YA. Financial woes may force Macdonald Hall to shut down for good! Bruno and Boots to the rescue, of course. This is my favorite B&B book so far. I love The Fish broadcasts and Elmer being a science hero/rock star. And the stuff with the RCMP had me looking around for Turnbull from Due South, even though this book was written a solid decade before DS's time.
March 14, 2015
I don't know whether I want to reread this series or not, if only because I'm worried that rereading them as an adult will tarnish my memory of them.
I read these when I was still in elementary school and loved them. Highly recommend, they are stories of friendship and fun and are completely hilarious.
I read these when I was still in elementary school and loved them. Highly recommend, they are stories of friendship and fun and are completely hilarious.
June 11, 2014
This was the first MacDonald Hall book I ever read. I was... I dunno, 7? And it gave me so much joy. And even more joy when I learned it was only one of an entire series. It still makes me laugh, 20 years later.
May 21, 2015
Another great Bruno & Boots book! Not my very favourite, but the boys and I always love these books! Looking forward to continuing the series.
November 26, 2022
This book of the series had me chuckling out loud, even as a 21 year old that loved this series when I was 12.
October 4, 2017
Canadian children's author Gordon Korman has had a long career as the prolific writer of humorous, exciting, and easy-to-read novels geared toward grades 4 to 9. He started writing at age 12, when he wrote This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! for a seventh grade English class. Over the course of nearly 20 years after the publication of this first MacDonald Hall book, Korman published a total of 7 titles about the boarding school exploits of best friends Bruno and Boots.This month, I read them all:
This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! (1977)
Go Jump in the Pool! (1979)
Beware the Fish! (1980)
The War with Mr. Wizzle (1982)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
MacDonald Hall Goes Hollywood (1991)
Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall (1995)
The series stars best friends and roommates Bruno Walton and Melvin "Boots" O'Neal, who are known pranksters on the MacDonald Hall campus. Though the two boys often butt heads with their headmaster, the long-suffering yet fair-minded Mr. Sturgeon, whom they call "The Fish," they also have a fond affection for their school. The boys and their classmates also have many associations with students at Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies, which is located across the road from MacDonald Hall, and whose high-strung Headmistress frequently overreacts to late-night visits from MacDonald Hall students by wildly wielding a shotgun.
Each book of the series focuses on a different major scheme involving Bruno and Boots. Sometimes, they seek to make a particular improvement to their school, such as a pool or a recreation center. Other times, they go to war with a particular teacher who is making their lives difficult, or with an outside force that threatens to close the school. In the final two books, they even befriend a Hollywood celebrity and uncover a phantom prankster.
What I love about these books is their sense of humor. Last spring, I attended a talk by two children's illustrators who insisted that the key to humor in children's books is underwear and toilet jokes. I found this to be a disappointing underestimation of what kids are capable of finding funny, but I was also hard-pressed to think of many examples of funny books, especially funny books targeted at boys, that could make kids laugh without resorting to crude humor. Thankfully, I have been reminded that this series fits that bill exactly. Perhaps because Korman started writing these when he was himself an adolescent, he completely understands what middle school boys find funny, and he delivers it in every single book. Pranks, schemes, disasters, explosions, science experiments, sporting events - these are the backdrops for Korman's jokes, and most of the time, they are clever, respectful and well-executed. Even when the characters disobey their teachers, they often do so in the name of a noble cause that helps their school or their friends.
Also refreshing is the complete lack of serious dating in these books. There are some storylines involving long-distance and unrequited crushes, but none of the preoccupation with having exclusive girlfriends and boyfriends that seems prevalent in more contemporary books. The girls of Miss Scrimmage's (particularly Cathy and Diane) are not presented as potential romantic partners for Bruno, Boots, and their friends, but as partners in crime, good friends, and pranksters in their own right. All the female characters are actually very well-done, including Mrs. Sturgeon, the headmaster's wife, whose affection for Bruno and Boots often keeps her husband from acting rashly in his punishment of them.
Are the MacDonald Hall books great literature? Probably not. But neither are they to be completely dismissed as "fluff" or 'twaddle." For boys who like funny books, but whose parents would prefer not to promote toilet humor (or worse, crude jokes with a sexual basis), they are the perfect escapist read. Interestingly, these books have also recently been turned into a series of films, which are all available to stream on Netflix. I watched half of the first one, Go Jump in the Pool!, and noted some differences, mainly in the age of the characters (MacDonald Hall seems to be a high school in the movie world) and in the character of Miss Scrimmage (who is now a peace-loving hippie and not an unhinged woman with a shotgun), but overall, I didn't think it was terrible. I would definitely recommend reading the books first, but fans of the series will probably enjoy the film adaptations.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! (1977)
Go Jump in the Pool! (1979)
Beware the Fish! (1980)
The War with Mr. Wizzle (1982)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
MacDonald Hall Goes Hollywood (1991)
Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall (1995)
The series stars best friends and roommates Bruno Walton and Melvin "Boots" O'Neal, who are known pranksters on the MacDonald Hall campus. Though the two boys often butt heads with their headmaster, the long-suffering yet fair-minded Mr. Sturgeon, whom they call "The Fish," they also have a fond affection for their school. The boys and their classmates also have many associations with students at Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies, which is located across the road from MacDonald Hall, and whose high-strung Headmistress frequently overreacts to late-night visits from MacDonald Hall students by wildly wielding a shotgun.
Each book of the series focuses on a different major scheme involving Bruno and Boots. Sometimes, they seek to make a particular improvement to their school, such as a pool or a recreation center. Other times, they go to war with a particular teacher who is making their lives difficult, or with an outside force that threatens to close the school. In the final two books, they even befriend a Hollywood celebrity and uncover a phantom prankster.
What I love about these books is their sense of humor. Last spring, I attended a talk by two children's illustrators who insisted that the key to humor in children's books is underwear and toilet jokes. I found this to be a disappointing underestimation of what kids are capable of finding funny, but I was also hard-pressed to think of many examples of funny books, especially funny books targeted at boys, that could make kids laugh without resorting to crude humor. Thankfully, I have been reminded that this series fits that bill exactly. Perhaps because Korman started writing these when he was himself an adolescent, he completely understands what middle school boys find funny, and he delivers it in every single book. Pranks, schemes, disasters, explosions, science experiments, sporting events - these are the backdrops for Korman's jokes, and most of the time, they are clever, respectful and well-executed. Even when the characters disobey their teachers, they often do so in the name of a noble cause that helps their school or their friends.
Also refreshing is the complete lack of serious dating in these books. There are some storylines involving long-distance and unrequited crushes, but none of the preoccupation with having exclusive girlfriends and boyfriends that seems prevalent in more contemporary books. The girls of Miss Scrimmage's (particularly Cathy and Diane) are not presented as potential romantic partners for Bruno, Boots, and their friends, but as partners in crime, good friends, and pranksters in their own right. All the female characters are actually very well-done, including Mrs. Sturgeon, the headmaster's wife, whose affection for Bruno and Boots often keeps her husband from acting rashly in his punishment of them.
Are the MacDonald Hall books great literature? Probably not. But neither are they to be completely dismissed as "fluff" or 'twaddle." For boys who like funny books, but whose parents would prefer not to promote toilet humor (or worse, crude jokes with a sexual basis), they are the perfect escapist read. Interestingly, these books have also recently been turned into a series of films, which are all available to stream on Netflix. I watched half of the first one, Go Jump in the Pool!, and noted some differences, mainly in the age of the characters (MacDonald Hall seems to be a high school in the movie world) and in the character of Miss Scrimmage (who is now a peace-loving hippie and not an unhinged woman with a shotgun), but overall, I didn't think it was terrible. I would definitely recommend reading the books first, but fans of the series will probably enjoy the film adaptations.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
January 30, 2024
I really loved this book. It is verry funny, and the humor is in good taste. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a tense but funny storyline. I always read more at a time than I think I think I will when I read it. It is focused on a school off highway 42 near Toronto, which is going bankrupt, and is being saved by its eccentric students. The book's genre is adventure fiction, and I definitely think more people should read it.
June 20, 2008
Another of those Korman books I was on about. This one is from 1980, and it is riotously funny. A boarding school is running out of money, and its most infamous pair of students start scheming to save it. They also start accidentally terrorizing the countryside with televised warnings about “Operation Popcan” and “Operation Flying Fish.” Hijinks ensue, as do the Mounties. Props to a book that both 9-year-old Nick and 26-year-old Nick can laugh at.
Oh, but someone really should have fumigated this one for saidbookisms. What is it about kids’ books that makes these acceptable? Editors in every other category stomp ’em like roaches, but I remember them being just part of the fabric of kid-lit.
Oh, but someone really should have fumigated this one for saidbookisms. What is it about kids’ books that makes these acceptable? Editors in every other category stomp ’em like roaches, but I remember them being just part of the fabric of kid-lit.
November 26, 2007
This review covers all the books in this hilarious Bruno and Boots series.
I would rate this 10 stars if I could! These were my favorite books when I was growing up. I don't remember many details about them, but I remember absolutely loving reading them. My favorite kind of book to read when I was out of super kiddy books was biographies, but this was my almost-tween favorite book series. I really remember this series as the one that solidified my love of reading.
I think that would be so cool if my sons end up enjoying them, too. I've heard that they're out of print now, but I'm sure they could be found somehow.
I would rate this 10 stars if I could! These were my favorite books when I was growing up. I don't remember many details about them, but I remember absolutely loving reading them. My favorite kind of book to read when I was out of super kiddy books was biographies, but this was my almost-tween favorite book series. I really remember this series as the one that solidified my love of reading.
I think that would be so cool if my sons end up enjoying them, too. I've heard that they're out of print now, but I'm sure they could be found somehow.
Read
June 2, 2016Okay, listen carefully. Gordon Korman started writing when he was a wee tyke -- 12 or 13, but don't hate him because he's talented. What you need to know is, the books he's writing now are NOT what to read. Back when, he wrote a whole series of boarding school books referred to as the "Bruno and Boots" books, of which Beware the Fish is one. He also wrote several stand-alone novels such as Son of Interflux and Don't Care High, which are slyly humorous and inventive and charming to read. These older books are the ones to seek out.
Want to read
October 20, 2017Read in either elementary school or junior high. I'd been trying to figure out the name of this for years before someone's passing reference clued me in.
March 14, 2018
NAME: Keagan
TITLE OF MY BOOK: MACDONALD HALL beware the Fish
AUTHOR: Gordon Korman
PUPLISHER: Scholastic Canada Ltd.
DATE: 2003
Total Number of pages: 176
SETTING
Beware the Fish takes place in Canada at a private school for boys
CHARACTERS
The main characters are Bruno and Boots. The characters are believable. I liked Bruno the most because he is like me. I relate to this book because I get in trouble too.
PLOT
The problem in Macdonald Hall is that the school cannot afford to keep Macdonald Hall up as a school so they have to take out all of the junk food out of the cafeteria. The resolution is for Macdonald hall to enroll new kids.
Miss Scrimmage got arrested.
Bruno and Boot and some of their friends are going to the dump to go get all of the pop cans for a science project to make a pyramid to set a world record.
Bruno made a broadcast on the Fish (principal) but Bruno is making jokes about the Fish.
Bruno and Boots got sent to the principal’ office.
I did not like the book`s ending because the author only talked about the end of the summer and it wasn’t that interesting.
PERSONAL OPINION
I like the part about the beware the Fish when Boots and Bruno and their friends were going to the dump. I would make the end longer. I learned to not steal. I think Dane should read it because he would like it. This could have been better but I still enjoyed it.
"
TITLE OF MY BOOK: MACDONALD HALL beware the Fish
AUTHOR: Gordon Korman
PUPLISHER: Scholastic Canada Ltd.
DATE: 2003
Total Number of pages: 176
SETTING
Beware the Fish takes place in Canada at a private school for boys
CHARACTERS
The main characters are Bruno and Boots. The characters are believable. I liked Bruno the most because he is like me. I relate to this book because I get in trouble too.
PLOT
The problem in Macdonald Hall is that the school cannot afford to keep Macdonald Hall up as a school so they have to take out all of the junk food out of the cafeteria. The resolution is for Macdonald hall to enroll new kids.
Miss Scrimmage got arrested.
Bruno and Boot and some of their friends are going to the dump to go get all of the pop cans for a science project to make a pyramid to set a world record.
Bruno made a broadcast on the Fish (principal) but Bruno is making jokes about the Fish.
Bruno and Boots got sent to the principal’ office.
I did not like the book`s ending because the author only talked about the end of the summer and it wasn’t that interesting.
PERSONAL OPINION
I like the part about the beware the Fish when Boots and Bruno and their friends were going to the dump. I would make the end longer. I learned to not steal. I think Dane should read it because he would like it. This could have been better but I still enjoyed it.
"
January 8, 2022
I haven’t been reading these books in order: so far I’ve done 7, 6, 2, 1, and now 3. As I read the earlier books in the series, I can see why other reviewers dislike the later ones. These early ones are a lot of fun, and Beware the Fish is the best of them.
It has the same basic premise as Go Jump in the Pool: Macdonald Hall needs money and Bruno is going to raise it. I do wonder why any of this needed to be a secret from Mr. Sturgeon, considering he approved of their eventually successful fundraising in the previous book, but that’s okay, I get the need for that conflict.
The characters were pretty realistic and fun, whereas in later entries, they’re basically stock characters, just Science Nerd and Guy Who Likes to Eat. My favorites are Mr. Sturgeon, Miss Scrimmage, and the girls from Scrimmage’s. Cathy especially was great in this one. The investigators, too, added some great dimension.
Cute, fun little book.
It has the same basic premise as Go Jump in the Pool: Macdonald Hall needs money and Bruno is going to raise it. I do wonder why any of this needed to be a secret from Mr. Sturgeon, considering he approved of their eventually successful fundraising in the previous book, but that’s okay, I get the need for that conflict.
The characters were pretty realistic and fun, whereas in later entries, they’re basically stock characters, just Science Nerd and Guy Who Likes to Eat. My favorites are Mr. Sturgeon, Miss Scrimmage, and the girls from Scrimmage’s. Cathy especially was great in this one. The investigators, too, added some great dimension.
Cute, fun little book.
August 25, 2025
The MacDonald Hall books have been favourites of mine for many decades. This book sees Bruno, Boots, and the rest of MacDonald Hall (and, of course, Cathy, Diane, and the entire population of Miss Scrimmage's) trying to rescue the Hall from bankruptcy, with each plan creating more and more chaos.
This book is the third in the series, but I've always felt that it fits better at #2. It feels like the series is picking up steam, and it really reaches and maintains its peak with books 2, 4, 5, 6, each of which feels a bit more polished.
This one has a bit of a darker feeling to some of it due to the police investigation and the mysterious occupant of Room 14. It's fun, but I feel like the side characters get more of a chance to shine in the rest of the other books mentioned above.
Lots of funny events and great lines that make the book memorable and have led me to read it countless times. If you're not familiar with the series, I definitely recommend it.
This book is the third in the series, but I've always felt that it fits better at #2. It feels like the series is picking up steam, and it really reaches and maintains its peak with books 2, 4, 5, 6, each of which feels a bit more polished.
This one has a bit of a darker feeling to some of it due to the police investigation and the mysterious occupant of Room 14. It's fun, but I feel like the side characters get more of a chance to shine in the rest of the other books mentioned above.
Lots of funny events and great lines that make the book memorable and have led me to read it countless times. If you're not familiar with the series, I definitely recommend it.
May 28, 2021
I first read this book sometime between the ages of 10 and 12...I think. Over thirty years later, I picked it up for another read. I wondered whether it was still as enjoyable as all those years ago and I give credit to Gordon Korman, he's a good storyteller. Some things have changed over the years so that parts of the story would be changed if it were written today. But enough of the story still works and it's enjoyable to be part of the misadventures of Bruno and Boots.
This was a fun read that had me laughing at a few spots. The characters are entertaining and the tone is very light-hearted. I think today's children would still enjoy this book.
This was a fun read that had me laughing at a few spots. The characters are entertaining and the tone is very light-hearted. I think today's children would still enjoy this book.
February 22, 2021
This is a great book for readers young an old, in this Bruno and boots adventure they have to fight for fame to save their MacDonald hall from going bankrupt first the food is disappearing then the balls and since equipment is not being replaced, how will Bruno and boots be able to save their beloved hall? With fame! When setting world records does not work and trying to get rid of the reatailer does not work what will? Elmers machine accidentally brings unwanted fame by the cops is it enough to save the hall??!?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2022
More of a farce than anything else, this is the weakest Korman I've read lately, but that doesn't mean much. Even weak Korman is better than most other YA comedy. The highlight of the book, as usual, are the students of Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School - I recently observed that the best characters are the ones who are deeply crazy, but so effective & capable that they still manage to thrive, and the Scrimmage crew embody this terribly chaotic archetype.
June 25, 2024
This is the third book in this great series for young adults. Bruno and Boots are at it again but this time they are trying to save the school. I have to say I was shocked no where in the book dis they mention the pool. Did the administrators use that money for bills? Did the students get ripped off? I love the girls across the road!
December 17, 2024
This book was pretty good. My only real issue is that I read it coming off of Go Jump In the Pool, which is, in my opinion, a near perfect school style book. Still good though!
April 11, 2018
A lot of fun, but I think the gimmick of these books has worn off for me.
July 6, 2018
Very funny. This is another one that I will read to my children.
October 31, 2018
Oh Mr Sturgeon.
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