Why Pick on Me? Read online

  Marvin suddenly figures out why he has red hair and blue eyes, while the rest of his family has brown hair and brown eyes. He’s not really Marvin Redpost at all. He’s Robert, the Lost Prince of Shampoon!

  “Wonderfully logical and absurd, with wit and attention to detail rare in an easy reader.”

  —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

  “My name’s not Marvin.”

  —Marvin Redpost

  Marvin kisses his elbow by accident. Now he wishes he had pigtails and wants to play hopscotch! Everyone at school says that if a boy kisses his elbow, he’ll turn into a girl. Could Marvin be turning into a girl?

  “Sachar writes for beginning readers with a comic simplicity that is never banal.”

  —Booklist

  “There’s nothing Marvin Redpost can’t do.”

  —Stuart Albright, Marvin’s best friend

  Marvin’s friends think he’s the luckiest boy in the world when Mrs. North asks him to dog-sit for a week. He gets $3 a day, plus a $4 bonus if nothing goes wrong. And he gets to be alone in Mrs. North’s house!

  “Sachar’s finely tuned sense of how children think and feel makes his fourth book about Marvin and his comic misadventures entertaining.”

  —The Horn Book Magazine

  “Marvin’s going to use the bathroom in Mrs. North’s house!”

  —Melanie, Marvin’s classmate

  It’s “hole day” at school, and even Mrs. North and the principal are wearing their worst clothes. But now they’re expecting company—the president of the United States is on his way! And there’s no time to change!

  “The story hums along with its own cheerful energy, much like Marvin himself. “

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Good job, Marvin. “

  —The president

  Marvin can’t sleep. Suddenly something zooms across the sky. It looks a lot like Nick’s birthday cake! Could it be? Or is it something else? The next day there’s a new boy in school. His name is Joe Normal, but everyone thinks he’s weird. What is normal, anyway?

  “A smart, funny twist on the new-kid theme.”

  —The Horn Book Magazine, Starred

  “His name should be Marvin Stupid.”

  —Casey Happleton, Marvin’s friend?

  Everyone at school thinks that Marvin Redpost is going to ride his new bike down Suicide Hill. But not only is Marvin terrified of the steep hill, he’s afraid of his new bike! How can Marvin survive this one?

  “If Marvin says he’ll ride down Suicide Hill, then he’ll ride down Suicide Hill.”

  —Stuart Albright, Marvin’s best friend

  Marvin Redpost’s friend Casey Happleton lives in an old firehouse. But that’s not the only cool thing about her. She’s also got a super-secret magic crystal that she’s going to share with Marvin!

  “Lively dialogue and Marvin’s endless imagination command steady attention.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “You’re weird, Marvin!”

  —Casey Happleton, Marvin’s friend?

  About the Author

  Louis Sachar conducted his own “class survey” in order to find the best title for this book. He told the students in the classrooms he visited that he wanted the title to end with a question mark and have the word “pick” in it. Out of all the titles that were suggested, Louis chose Why Pick on Me?

  Louis Sachar (rhymes with “cracker”) lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Carla, and their daughter, Sherre.