Roxie and the Hooligans

Roxie and the Hooligans #1

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator)

Do not panic.

Lord Thistlebottom's Book of Pitfalls and How to Survive Them has taught Roxie Warbler how to handle all sorts of situations. If Roxie's ever lost in the desert, or buried in an avalanche, or caught in a dust storm, she knows just what to do. But Lord Thistlebottom has no advice to help Roxie deal with Helvetia's Hooligans, the meanest band of bullies in school.

Then Roxie finds herself stranded on a deserted island with not only the Hooligans but also a pair of crooks on the lam, and her survival skills may just save the day -- and turn the Hooligans into surprising allies.

Genres: Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, School, Juvenile

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.

Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.

Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."

By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.

Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.

Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.

Reviews

[Bookish*nurse · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids i loved the story.. what I didn’t love is there is the phrase “slit their throats” in this KIDS book.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for end of the year read-a-loud to second grade. Roxie is quiet and bullied by a group of students because her ears stick out. One day, the bullies are harassing her and she slips into a dumpster. The bullies fall in after her, and the dumpster gets picked up just after to be transported to an island for dumping. Roxie and the others need to survive on the island, and Roxie can, thanks to all that she learns from her famous uncle's adventures and his friend's book.

[Tamera Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A girl is teased by a band of hooligans, but she ends up saving their lives. Great story about survival and being yourself.

[Claire Kizziah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great book! I started it and finished it in one day; it's a great book to read in a short amount of time. It's about a girl who is bullied by the "hooligans" and turns out, she gets stuck with them for a while (I won't spoil why). I think my only problem was that the two bad guys said some words that aren't the best, and I think in the first part the hooligans do. I recommend this book to you to find out if the bullies turn to like Roxie, or if they they keep to bullying others. I specifically recommend this book to children ages 8 to 10 (like I think it says on the book) who like adventure, risk, and/or who like reading about how children face being bullied. It really was a good book to read.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids and I really enjoyed this one! It shows a good character arc and my son picked up on the redemptive story of the hooligans. So that was cool.

The bad guys might be a little scary for younger ones. They do mention threats of violence and that might be a little much.

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud with Kels. :) She really enjoyed it and wishes it were a series. Roxie is a cool kiddo.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was her ears, of course. They were round ears, pink ears, ears of the normal variety, and Roxie scrubbed them daily inside and behind. But they stuck straight out from her head like the handles on a sugar bowl, the ears on an elephant, the wings on a bat.

Fourth grader Roxie loves to sit at the feet of her Uncle Dangerfoot as he tells tales of the daring adventures he's lived through with his friend and fellow explorer, Lord Thistlebottom. She's learned everything she can from Lord Thistlebottom's Book of Pitfalls and How To Survive Them. Advice such as

When faced with starvation, do not panic...Wrap the insect in something more pleasing and imagine yourself having dinner at Buckingham Palace.

But all she's learned hasn't taught her how to deal with the bullies who torment her at school. Helevitia and her gang of Hooligans won't leave Roxie and her large ears alone, and there seems to be no way out. But when they all end up stranded on a small island together, trying to find a way to survive and get back home, it's Roxie who has the necessary skills and who realizes

She could never capture a rogue elephant, she knew, and she might never survive an avalanche, but she could do this.

I love a story that manages to be short and sweet, but still somehow gets you rooting for the lead character. Roxie is a girl you'll admire. Faced with the trial of being bullied for her large ears, she first tries to meet the harsh words with a smile. When that doesn't work, she tries on her own to work out a way of simply avoiding them. Once they're stuck on the island, she gradually takes leadership of the group with her subtle, savvy, know-how-can-do attitude, finally able to implement what she's learned from her adventuresome Uncle Dangerfoot.

I really liked the style of the writing. If it weren't for the plastic water bottles and the helicopter, the tone and setting could have easily placed the story somewhere between 1900-1920. Dangerfoot and Thistlebottom felt like slightly jollier versions of the big game hunter from Jumanji (an odd comparison, yes, but it feels right.) It's an adventure story that I think will age well, and will work especially for younger advanced readers. The story is simple but the writing is a little on the mature side.

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[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roxie and the Hooligans (Roxie, #1) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, 116 pages. Atheneum Books, 2006. $16.

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Roxie has grown up listening to her Uncle Dangerfoot’s adventure stories and has memorized most of the survival skills in her favorite book, Lord Thistlebottom’s Book of Pitfalls and How to Survive Them. So, it’s a bit of a wonder that Roxie can’t seem to survive the four bullies at her school, known as the Hooligans. One day their bullying is so brutal that she finds herself in a dumpster, shortly before the dump truck comes to pick up the garbage. Somehow Roxie finds herself and the Hooligans being dumped into the ocean and marooned on an island with robbers. Roxie’s knowledge comes in handy and even if the Hooligans have always been nasty to her, she rises above their meanness and does what she was always destined to do-have an adventure.

My eight-year-old son and I couldn’t put this book down. The adventure was well paced and suspenseful. I loved Roxie and her get-it-done attitude. My issue with this book is that the bullying was awful. The Hooligans made fun of Roxie’s ears, threw eggs at her, trapped her and taped her ears down, tried to put underwear on her head and had her sick with worry constantly. Also, the robbers on the island threaten to slit the throats of anyone that they cross paths with, which seemed really violent for a kid’s book. That said, my son wanted to read every night and was totally into the story, acknowledging along the way how mean the bullies were.

C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine-year-old Roxie Warbler is the niece of Uncle Dangerfoot, the sidekick of a world-famous adventurer and author of a book on 'Pitfalls and How to Survive Them.' Roxie knows this book and its helpful tips ("do not panic!") by heart, but is still afraid of thunder, lightning, tornadoes, and mean kids (shown in all their cartoonish glory in this book, with great names like Helvetia Hagus and Simon Surly). One fateful day the bullies, who mock her for her big ears, chase her right into dumpster, and the bullies themselves fall in after her! And then the dumpster, with them inside, is driven to a barge which takes the trash and the kids to a deserted island. Not only is Roxie trapped there with the bullies, but there are a pair of paranoid bank robbers on the lam on the island as well! Roxie is able to take her favorite book's maxims to heart, enlist the reluctant help of the none-too-bright Hooligans, and try to save the day. This is a quick read, with snappy pacing and a light tone. Although there is some sense of danger when the crooks show up, the spritely pace and the exuberance of the child hero keeps it fanciful and almost fairy-tale like. Kids are inspired when Roxie proves to be braver and more resourceful than the bullies, and the tongue in cheek humor is engaging.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh! the horror in reading this book aloud to my children! Bullying! Danger! Getting lost and abandoned! Bad guys! Be still my anxiety-prone mother's heart... This was such an adventurous read for us all and there was so much to be had in giggles and conversation as the small nerdy girl saved the rest again, and again. We finished this book with a sigh that it had to end, purchased the next one in the series, and swore to track down and read Shiloh and anything else, like Alice, that we can find from Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

[Nayna P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading Roxie and the Hooligans by Phyllis Naylor. This book had a lot of action, it was a fast paced book. I enjoyed the book, but it was not the best for me. This book is about a girl Roxie and there are a bunch of kids, called the hooligans, who pick on her. One day she was getting away, climbed a wall and landed in the trash can, so did the Hooligans. They get taken to the ocean and dumped there, so they swam to a nearby island, They soon find out they are not alone. Because of this they appreciate each other. Their adventures go on from there, but you will have to read the book to find them out. I do feel like I have a connection with Roxie because in my old school I sometimes i got picked on, but when I was partnered with that person I learned that we had a lot in common and we became best friends. i would recommend this book for people who like a short story with action.

[Jordan Grieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd book. It was a bit too “young” for me, even with my like for younger books, and yet there were multiple references to slitting throats that I felt was slightly out of place.

The use up really stupid town names, the bullies just being ruthless assholes, and the super simple yet still unbelievable plot left me less than impressed.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my eight year old son and he was totally into the story. There is some extreme bullying and a bad guy threatens to slit the throats of anyone who crosses his path which I thought was a bit much for young readers.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roxie is sure her famous, adventurous, brave uncle would not be pleased that she is afraid of the bullies at school. When she and the four hooligans get stranded on an island with two dangerous robbers, she discovers how brave she really is.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three cheers for a brave and smart female lead. My 2nd graders and I loved this book.

[Andrea Bragdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about sticking up for yourself and being a good person/friend. Lots of discussion points throughout the text.

[Justin Swanson]

1/18/25 🗣️ read aloud myself
1/27/23👂🗣️ listened to my wife read it aloud to the family

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 1 out of 5]

We hated this book. This book is about a girl named Roxie who gets bullied relentlessly for her big ears. The kids in this book are TERRIBLE and savage! It was painful to read about. They are chasing her because they want to put underwear on her head and have it sealed down by eggs. She runs and tries to get into the school but its not open yet so she climbs onto the dumpster to get into a window but they're throwing so many eggs at her its slippery and she falls in. They think she got into the building so they continue to pursue her and the 5 hooligans fall in too. As her friend Norman watches, they are all picked up in the dumpster and dumped at sea. They swim to an island and the kids are STILL violently after her, biting her leg and trying to literally kill her it seems. When they're on the island, she is the one with the most survival skills so they start to soften to her, but literally only because of what she can do for them. Its disgusting. We get glimpses into the fact that they don't have great home lives, but by this point I couldn't care less. They get rescued and the hooligans are finally kind but it was an artificial character arc and the kindness didn't even come close to the terror they inflicted. Roxie was always kind and didn't retaliate but this book was awful. DO NOT recommend.

[melhara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun (but unrealistic) adventure about Roxie, who knows a lot about surviving in the wild but has no idea how to survive the hooligans who are always tormenting her at school. She eventually gets the opportunity to utilize her survival skills to save the hooligans when they inexplicably end up stranded on a remote island with some criminals!

There's actually a lot of useful survival skills found within this book that would be fun (and possibly useful) for kids to learn. I love how the author is able to apply some of the survival tactics to a school setting.

I also loved Roxie - she's incredibly mature, brave, level-headed, and resourceful. If I were stranded on an island with a bunch of bullies, I'd probably abandon them and leave them to die lol (but we obviously wouldn't want kids to read a book like that).

*** #46 of my 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book by an author who has written more than 20 books ***

[Chantel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roxie's wit of getting out of situations come from her personal guide book written by her favorite author, but she seems to have trouble with these hooligans that bully her. She must improvise with this situation because her survival book is only good for danger and surviving, not a rowdy group of kids who have nothing better to do than to pick on her.
This book is allocated to middle grades such as 4th-8th grade. This book delivers illustrations for the reader and the genre is considered Adventure Fiction.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abby and my Synopsis (spoilers)

Roxie gets picked on by the Hooligans. Somehow she gets trapped in a dumpster with her tormentors, loaded onto a barge, and dumped in the ocean. Roxie desperately swims to the nearest desert island with the Hooligans still chasing her. She climbs a tree and soon learns they are not alone. There are two murderous bank robbers to avoid! Thankfully Roxie has memorized "Lord Thistlebottom's Book Of Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them". She rescues the children, traps the robbers and conquers her fears! (She eats some grubs along the way too)

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a young(er) reader answer to Lord of the Flies for second-fourth graders. The book is very short, making it a great read aloud. The bullying that begins the whole adventure certainly had my heart wrenching for Roxie, but it does end well and the tone throughout has some fun to it, such as the character and place names (i.e towns like Hamburger-on-Bun and Hasty Pudding, names like Lord Thistlebottom.). Would make a good read aloud to that age or younger (but perhaps edit the threat of throat slitting and what not...)

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mother read this book to me and my other sisters, and to my disappointment, I didn't really enjoy it. It could have been so much more, but sadly, it just fell too short for me. I understand that this is a children's book, and that I have surpassed that reading level, but even my younger sister showed signs of not liking it. It just seemed repetitive. We all get it. We don't need to panic. Please stop telling us!! The characters were cute, but pretty boring, and while the plot was interesting, the execution could have been much better. Overall, it missed the mark.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet little book was a nice twist on the ordinary kid + challenge --> courage. As the story unfolds, Roxie learns to apply knowledge gained from her interests and the adventures of her loving uncle when the Hooligans' plot to spoil her morning goes south.

The names were rough to pronounce for a read-aloud, but otherwise, we completely loved this silly, clever story, set in an endearing town...and all the twists!

I have a feeling I'll be re-reading this one to my Rosie a few more times this summer.

[Terra Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting set of circumstances for these young children and definitely a main character who gets things done. If only we all grew up with an Uncle Dangerfoot and read survival stories by Lord Thistlebottom.

Those are just a couple of the cute names in the book. The author does go a tad overboard when naming the little towns, but it doesn't ruin the story. It's a simple read. Great for those 6-9 year old who don't like to sit through very long chapter books yet.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl is teased by bullies at her school. She bravely tries to find work-arounds (like arriving before school to clap the erasers) instead of going to the adults in her life. But, things take a most unusual turn of events and she has to not only survive herself, but also save those who were the meanest to her. A great book for young kids to learn about kindness, empathy and forgiveness.

[Ashley Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so great! She got picked on because of her big ears, had eggs thrown at her, and fell into a dumpster (along with the hooligans who teased her). The dumpster's trash was sent out to sea and Roxie and the Hooligans swam to an island. My favorite part was when the hooligans started being nice to Roxie because she taught them how to survive on the island. 😀 - Ryan, age 8

[poppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hit with my Lower Elementary students. Roxie shows us, and more importantly she shows herself, that when you're placed in the right situation, you'll access the courage you need to overcome obstacles. This book is relatable, funny, surprising, and filled with adventure. But, as Lord Thistlebottom says, "Do not panic!"

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxie looks different and she is teased. She does her best to stay away from the Hooligans and they do their best to make her life miserable. All that changes when Roxie's resourcefulness saves the day and captures two bank robbers. Being different is what makes a person special - that along with not panicking.