I am so over being a Loser

Barry Loser #3

by Jim Smith

The third book in this series of notebooks belonging to Barry Loser—perfect for reluctant readers, this silly series will be enjoyed by fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Barry's mom has become a bit of celebrity, and now he can't go anywhere without seeing a poster of her eating a cookie or wiggling her butt in a pair of jeans. It's so annoyingly embarrassing, and everyone at school is making fun of him. But you can't keep Barry down for long. With the help of his napkin collection, new girl Nancy Verkenwerken, and a snail called Snailypoos, Barry is determined to  prove once and for all that he is not a loser.

Genres: Comics, Comedy, Childrens

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

After graduating with a first class degree in advertising, graphic design and illustration in 1997, Jim Smith was spotted by the owner of a small coffee shop chain and brought in to fill the walls of their flagship store with his paintings.

It was a three month contract; seventeen years later, Jim is head of design at Puccino's Worldwide Ltd, now an international coffee shop franchise with stores in the UK, Europe and Egypt.

In the meantime he's illustrated kids' food packaging for M&S, drawn cartoons on the sides of PJ smoothies, created in-store graphics for Orange phone stores, designed book covers and branded a New York based Iced Tea company.

In 2010, Jim launched the hugely successful Waldo Pancake range of stationery and gift products, now sold in the UK, Australia, Singapore, Europe and the US.

'I am not a Loser' by Barry Loser, the first of a series of children's books 'spellchecked' by Jim, was published in 2012, having already sold rights to nine countries. The sequel, 'I am Still Not a Loser' was the winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2013 and declared the funniest book for children aged seven to fourteen.

Jim has now written six Barry Loser books, and numerous short stories. 'Future Ratboy', a spin-off series of books based on Barry's favourite TV star, debuts in July 2015.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a bit weirder than the other two but still so laugh-out-loud funny.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this as an adult as its obviously aimed for younger people but I think my nephew will certainly enjoy it.

It's just a lighthearted fun read

[Jackson Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book I have read by the author but I enjoyed it very much my favourite character was Barry loser I wish he found the snail.

[Skyler Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an alright book in my opinion but not one of my best reads. It was a mixed of me enjoying it to getting bored and then liking it all that jiz jaz. THERE IS ONE THING I DON'T LIKE: the word keel and like skiel also putting -esh at the end. Not for me.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, understand I am coming from the perspective of an adult who is a former teacher and a children's author. That being said, I could not like this book. First, because the author uses so much slang I had to work ten times as hard to understand the story line. I cannot see this as being easy to read for grades 2-4 as this book is advertised for. Second, there was a lot of meanness throughout the whole book. As a matter of fact is seemed the book was centered around it. Even Barry Loser is mean to his friends by wacking them in the head and making fun of them. I might expect some of this behavior from middle school, but not elementary age students.
This series won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. I can see a lot of Roald Dahl wackiness and silliness throughout the book. But the enjoyable story line is just not there. Instead, Barry is mean to people, people are mean to him, Barry complains a lot and gets into trouble. I could not finish the last few chapters because I read all I could take.
Would I recommend this book? NO. Elementary age students would not build reading vocabulary from it and it is a bad influence. I feel the tone is set more for middle school age students.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last book I chose for Chatterbooks was all about the plague in San Francisco in 1900. So I wanted something a bit more lighthearted for the next one. I chose this. It certainly meets the criteria. It also fits the 'pick something you wouldn't normally read' rule that I try to follow for the group. This one is definitely not in MY normal reading preferences. The group will probably love it - especially the boys.

[D E X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT ONE

[Harry Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[C.MICHAELIDES · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was amazing

Very funny and adventurous. I liked the snail character because he was v small like a little blob of cream.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a alright book

[Gypsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a great book

[Ruqayyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny read

[Marijke Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik gruwel als ik me probeer voor te stellen hoe het leven op school moet zijn als je
* Sukkel van de achternaam heet;
* je oma iets met jouw schoolmeester is begonnen;
* je moeder de stem en het gezicht is geworden van de bekendste supermarktketen;
* je niet mee mag op schoolreis!

Brrr... Dat overkomt Simon Sukkel allemaal, in dit boek!

[Suzanne Bhargava · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a few chapters every night to my five year old. He thought it was really funny and was quoting bits of it for a while, but about two-thirds of the way through he lost interest. I imagine it's because nothing actually happened. It had about as much plot as That's Not My Train.

[Enupama]

it's a keel book...

[Seeba]

good