Nightmare at the Book Fair

by Dan Gutman

Trip Dinkleman hates to read. Hates, hates, hates it.

All he wants to do is play lacrosse. So when the president of the PTA asks Trip to help her out on his way to tryouts, he is not happy. He is even more not happy when a stack of books tumbles onto his head and knocks him out cold. And he is even more not happy when he wakes up and has absolutely no idea where he is. Now all he wants to do is get home. But after encountering a haunted house, aliens, talking animals, and much, much more, he realizes getting home might be just a little bit harder to do than he thought.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Adventure, Juvenile, Childrens

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 29, 2008

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Kathrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book to review for a number of reasons. The first is, my mostly reluctant-reader 8-year-old son, who asked for this book for Christmas, LOVED this book, loves to talk about it, required me to read it right way, wants to show me and every one he knows his favorite chapters, and wants to read more Dan Gutman. How can I not give it 5 stars for those reasons alone?! But...

Am I being unreasonable for having issues? I mean, this book caused my son no physical harm, in fact, it did exactly what a young reader novel should do -- excite, inspire, etc. And Dan Gutman has a strong track record -- he's written literally dozens of young readers and has tons of loyal fans, especially boys like my son -- not exceptional readers, not academically inclined, but interested in sports and fart jokes. This book does an admirable job of sneaking some book smarts into a fun, light story, as our main character mysteriously falls into various literary genres, one per chapter. I'm a bit at issue, though, because Gutman's tone, and the tone of his narrator, pace very inconsistently through the run of the book. The first few chapters are a bit jarring, as readers aren't quite familiar with the structure, and the choice to "fall" into horror as the first chapter is a bit of a risk, as this narrative is one of the weakest. The first half of the chapters introduce you to the genre in the chapter title, and proceed with a rather stereotyped scenario, basing the genre through character and setting, but not through writing style or convention, with the narrator spending most of his time wondering how he got there. Then, in the last few chapters, especially that of fantasy, Gutman's tone turns cranky and facetious, and our narrator turns into a spoiled twerp. Gutman certainly has strong feelings about hobbits. Now, rather than relying on character and setting to set the genre, Gutman pokes jokes at genre conventions, a lot of which could only be appreciated by someone already familiar with the genre. It's an inside joke his readers aren't going to get. Ending the book in this way left a sour taste in my mouth, regardless of my son's enthusiasm. Incidentally, my son's favorite chapter was the animal story, told from the pov of a cat. He can identify with it while thinking about his own two furballs. Of course, he hated the "girl" story (is that a genre?) simply because it's about girls, eeew, regardless of what the story was actually about. This one was also facetious and spoofy, and if my son had had more experience with girl story conventions (eg:a girl's group of friends are always perfectly multicultural) he might have found it much more amusing.

So, in the end, the book is a fine introduction to the concept of genre, but is not a great or consistent model of "writing" in a particular genre. But if your son loves it, and reads more after it, than I guess you can't complain. Out loud.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever way to introduce the genres. Well written!

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trip Dinkleman hates to read. He agrees to help move some crates for the Book Fair, a load of books crashes down on his head. When Trip wakes up he finds himself inside a typical Goosebumps-type story. Just as Professor Psycho is about to steal Trip's face for a transplant, Trip is transported into the middle of an adventure story and is pushed out of an airplane. From the adventure story to a sci-fi tale, to a meeting with Captain Obvious and The Exaggerator, Trip's transporting continues from one fiction sub-genre to another.

Gutman keeps his writing style very simple, making high-interest topics accessible to kids with lower reading levels. Thus, the writing here isn't the "best", but there's enough humor to keep readers--even adults--turning pages. In fact, adults will be chuckling at humor that will probably go over most kids' heads (see "Luv Interest Olsen and her twin, Peace Olsen"). Gutman hits just about every stereotypical character, catchphrase, plot twist, and story element for each of the fiction sub-genres, and he does it with terrific satire. (The one exception is the historical fiction chapter, where Trip finds himself inside the Apollo 11 spaceship with Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Mike Collins. Nothing funny there, just historical info.) The last chapter gives a humorous nod to one of the most cherished "dream travel" tales of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

Although I haven't given it a tremendous amount of thought yet, I think this could be fun to use with Middle School kids to reinforce the elements of fiction sub-genres.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was rather interesting. The hero, Trip Dinkleman, hits his head while helping to move books for the book fair. He then proceeds to have a chapter of each kind of fiction available in a school library. It is a great way of explaining each type of genre fiction. Great literature is not what happens in this book. But I think it does the job it is trying to do, of showing kids what each type of fiction does. Nicely done!

[Pandora · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ended up skip reading it at the end. The book is very disjointed and there is no central narrartive holding the story together. Trip just jumps from one adventure to another. I really didn't see how he could learn anything. I think Gutman is trying to be like Alcatraz (Sanderson) or The Hitchhiker Guide to the Glaxary. The problem is in order to be that crazy you have to have control which Gutman, unlike Brandon Sanderson and Douglas Adams, doesn't have in this story. At a couple points he even switchs point of view which adds more confusion to an already confusing book. This book is like by some people. Maybe I'm too old fashion and for those who like to channel surf this book may be right for them. As for one choose what I want to watch and stay with it.

Spoiler Alert:

The message at the end of the book that reading leads to great adventure I thought was too forced at the end especially with the redoing the Wizard of Oz ending almost word for word. I'm puzzled for who the audience this book is for. Readers will be turn off that the chapter don't flow together. Non readers will probably give up.

[Cori Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not what I expected at all! I’m still deciding if I liked it or not. You should just read it and then call me so we can hash it out together! It’s clean and good for all ages – just a very different style for a plot.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book. Reading it aloud to my third graders. They are so engaged. Suspense is great!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

H-10 4 stars

[Ronaldo Tenorio · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Nightmare at the Book Fair” by Dan Gutman is a really fantastic book.I rated it 4 stars it had some interesting parts but some bad parts as well. It is about this kid named Trip Dinkleman who doesn’t like to read and is going to lacrosse tryouts with his friend named Lionel. When he goes to tryouts he is asked by the president of the PTA to move some boxes for the book fair. When he’s moving the boxes a big, heavy box falls on his head and he goes into a state of dreams. An example of a dream he had when he had to jump of a plane in the military and he had no parachute. Then he jumps onto this person named Carrie who’s parachute didn’t work but decided for them to land onto the cotton-candy factory. Another dream he had is when he was with his class on a trip in the White House and an alien space ship comes out of the sky. Next the alien pushes Trip’s class into the White House and holds them as hostages. Then the president and the other people at the White House decide if they should work with the aliens to get rid of global warming. But they don’t like the idea and they went to war with them. A final example is when he was a cat and had a big sister named Lucy and she talked about what cats were better at then humans. Then she had demands for the humans for what they should do. When he wakes up he realizes that he wasn’t in a dream anymore and he was relieved. I hope you get the chance to read this hope you like it as much as I do because it was an amazing and fantastic book.

[AMY · Rating 3 out of 5]

230 pages. This book was definitely written for boys. It has so much boy humor and is just plain weird enough for any book to latch on to it. A boy named Trip Dinkleman helps the librarian during the bookfair set up and ends up tipping the bookcase over and knocking himself out. While he is unconscious, he has some rather strange dreams or whatever you can call them...episodes - and some of them are quite freaky. There is one section that talks about transgender which I thought was inappropriate for elementary kids, since it is leveled at fourth grade AR. The humor is definitely something boys will like but I think girls will not like it. It is hard to follow all of the weird episodes that are all over the place. It is a bet far-fetched for most girls to get into. I think they would find it ridiculous and stop reading it. If my bookfair ever generated this kind of weird adventures I would definitely shut it down. Too weird for me, but I still find value in it, so I am going to recommend it only for boys grade 4-5.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually, I read these types of books and think about how great they would be if I was ten, but at thirty, they just are not what I am looking for, this book is not like that. For me, I liked the thought that you could travel into many different types of books and really get a chance to live in them for a time. Let's be honest, how many of us have dreamed about being able to join our favorite literary heroes on their journeys?

Yes, this book is for elementary age children, and yes, it is probably best that way, but having a main character do something you've always wanted to do, makes it worth a read.

Author: Dan Gutman
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 29th 2008

[Enrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dan Gutman stayed with a nice premise: a boy jumped from book to book and we get to learn all genres. Unfortunately, there is no coherence to it. It seems random how the boy switches story all the time, without a narrative line connecting the chapters.

The book is intended to be like an initiation journey for someone who did not like reading and learns the value of it thorough a series of adventures, but the learnings should have been better connected and more explicit. It seems like a purposeless novel.

[Stephanie Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and engaging read. It felt super random, but that was kind of the point. Each chapter is written as a different genre, so I think it would be a great way to introduce/discuss different genres with upper elementary kids. Chapter 6 in particular uses tons of idioms and alliterations, which could be used in isolation to teach those terms. I wasn’t a fan of every chapter/genre, but they were fairly short, and I knew they would change quickly, so it kept me reading even through the less interesting parts. I think it would be fabulous as a read aloud for 3-5th graders.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read for mid-elementary readers, and esp. those who consider themselves non-readers. The author, Dan Gutman, has written many children's books. In this one he takes on an introduction to various genres of children's literature - horror, adventure, mystery, historical fiction, and even reference and poetry.

There are some cultural references that may be beyond the reader (Rivers of Joan, Stairway to Heaven, Forest of Whitaker), but if an adult is reading to a group they will elicit a chuckle and can be easily explained.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great idea, but could have benefited from getting authors who write in the different genres for each chapter. It also could have benefited from leaving out the last genre chapter(fiction for girls) entirely. That chapter felt very stereotypical(talk of clothes, gossip, baking) and also by calling it fiction for girls, it seems as if no one else can enjoy that style of fiction. I understand what they were trying to do, but it could’ve been left out/called something different.

[Renda Human · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a good read aloud for 4th grade introduction to genres. It also had a chapter that was great for teaching idioms. However, I experienced the importance of pre-reading before using as a read aloud. I guess I am Naïve about topics in young readers book these days. There were funny parts, but I was surprised about murder, violence, drunkenness, and especially the transgender and sex change references. Yikes! I will not use it for a read aloud again.

[Rose Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could remember where I heard about this author, encouraging me to read one of his books. It's a good choice for a young reader, and this one was about a young boy. It was full of facts surrounding real life events, such as the moon landing, being a cat, and one chapter full of the main character speaking only in alliterations - a very enjoyable chapter! I couldn't believe how many there are in our daily discourse!

[Abby Billups · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I got so into this book and was hooked the whole time reading it. All he twist and turns in this book just make it the most exciting. The way this author worded things weren't hard but were fun. I honestly got so into this book I had to skip a chapter because it scared me, it also made me laugh. I 100/100 recommend this book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because each chapter is a different genre of story and I thought it would be a fun read aloud with my class of 4th graders.

There's so many instances of gun violence, drunk characters, attempted murder, and infidelity. I imagine several kids would enjoy reading it, but it's definitely not read aloud material.

[Jnase1 · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the heck did I just read? It took me like a month to get through this because it was so awful. I can’t believe this was a Gutman book and that it has gotten great reviews. It felt like reading Michael Scott’s screenplay of Threat Level Midnight. It just didn’t work for me. Felt very amateur. Won’t be recommending it.

[Kellam Venosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Trip doesn't like to read, but after an afternoon in the library of all sorts of adventures, he realizes how interesting reading can be. He learns so much about the world around him, and peoples' imaginations. He learns to appreciate books and be present.

[Jennifer Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book! Plan on using it at the beginning of the year to talk about genres with my students and finding the perfect book that interests them. Beware…does mention transgender and surgery for a man to become a woman

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a book to introduce genres to my students. Needless to say, I will not be using this book. Might be more suitable for middle grade kids but it also does not seem to have aged well over the years. Maybe my review would’ve been different had I read it in 2008 when it first came out.

[Ruth Puy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the concept of each chapter written in a different genre as a way to expose younger readers, but some of the writing was over the top and many of the pop culture references don't age well. Would love to see another written with a more timeless humor.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

We thought this was pretty funny and enjoyed many laughs throughout the book. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book for kids who are trying to learn about specific genres but I think it's on the lines of Dav Pilkey and would resonate well for readers who mostly enjoy humorous stories.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gosh, I wanted to like this one. The premise sounded great and I hoped to be able to teach genres with it. Instead I almost couldn’t get through it. It barely made sense and most of the puns will go over kids heads.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teacher and librarian, I’m very excited about this book. I plan to read it aloud to my fifth graders to help start and encourage the discussion about literary genres. Very fun and easy reading. A handful of inappropriate words or comments… But I can skip over those in read aloud.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Great to introduce young readers to many different genres.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a cheesy book I grabbed in the kids' section because of its title. It was silly and easy to read. Best for kids ages 8-12.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this book. I though some of the chapters were short and hard to follow. I liked how the chapter titles were different book genres.