Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

As the series continues, fourth grader Hank discovers that his difficulties in reading, writing, and math are caused by a learning disability. However, the plot lines mainly deal with comic mishaps such as a pet iguana nesting inside Hank's science project and a bad report card going through a meat grinder and ending up in a batch of salami. These thin, sitcomlike episodes play for cheap laughs. [Review covers these Hank Zipzer titles: Day of the Iguana and I Got a "D" in Salami.]

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A new series—Hank Zipzer: The Mostly True Confessions of the World's Best Underachiever—starts off with a bang, thanks to these two misadventures of a fourth-grader with "learning challenges." Hank addresses readers directly with a deadpan voice. He lives in New York City with his crossword puzzle–addicted father, a mother who produces such dubious treats as vegetarian bologna at her deli ("Unfortunately for me, my lunch is her laboratory," says Hank), and his sister ("Emily the Perfect") and her pet iguana. When his teacher, Ms. Adolf, assigns a five-paragraph essay on what they did over the summer, Hank feels stymied until he decides to "build" his essay instead—a working model of Niagara Falls—and the plan backfires spectacularly. In the second book, Hank's report card (straight D's) winds up in the grinder for the soy salami that his mother hopes will attract the attention of the city's biggest supermarket chain. It's up to Hank to remedy the disaster. Both tales deftly blend comedy and pathos, and the exploration of Hank's academic struggles is never heavy-handed. The characters are well-drawn, from the endearingly hapless but determined Hank himself to a solid supporting cast that includes Hank's pals, his sympathetic grandfather and his arch-enemy, Nick McKelty (a bully with a head "the size of Rhode Island"). With snappy timing, pitch-perfect dialogue and a wise-cracking delivery, these two tales should attract an enthusiastic readership—not limited to, but certainly including, reluctant readers. Ages 8-12. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Hank Zipzer, a learning-challenged fourth grader, gets himself into lots of trouble when he tries to hide the fact that he received a number of "D's" on his report card. The fantastical, suspend-your-disbelief, rollicking and very funny solution that he and his friends invent, not to mention the desire to decipher the meaning of this book's title, will keep young readers turning the pages. Hank's relationship with his grandfather, his two best friends, his little sister, his parents, and, last but not least, his dog show that despite his problems at school, he has a big, loving heart and a way with people. Readers will smile in recognition of the character's dilemmas and laugh out loud at the slapstick, slippery slope of Hank's predicament.-Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.