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A review by missyp
Odd, Weird & Little by Patrick Jennings
4.0
Imagine being a 5th grader with the name Woodrow Schwette. And orange hair and an overbite. And no interest or ability with sports. Woodrow accepts being outside even the outer circle of students; he likes his family, reading, and making things with duck (not duct, as we learn) tape. When a new student arrives at school, Woodrow is surprised to see a kid even quirkier than him. Toulouse (?!) Houlout (!?) speaks French (sort of) is wearing a black suit, round glasses, a hat(!), and is carrying a briefcase (!!?). Woodrow thinks, "no doubt about it: he's weird. But in a weirdly cool way." Birds of a feather and all that; Woodrow and Toulouse become friends and oddity ensues.
Author Patrick Jennings respects his characters; even the bullies -- often the most stereotypical characters in a school story -- have their own quirks and individualities. Woodrow and his family are lovely, interesting people. As a reader, I enjoyed spending time with them. And Toulouse is, well, strangely compelling. Woodrow's voice as the narrator is earnest and a little bit droll.
The story opens up some questions and never closes them: How did such an unusual student such as Toulouse end up in an average American school? Does Mr. Longwood know a bit more about Toulouse's background than he lets on? Woodrow figures out part of the secret, but he swears that "no one will ever find out from [him]." The abrupt and ambiguous ending gives me hope that a sequel is one the way. Perhaps I will have a chance to spend a bit more time with Woodrow and learn more about Toulouse.
Author Patrick Jennings respects his characters; even the bullies -- often the most stereotypical characters in a school story -- have their own quirks and individualities. Woodrow and his family are lovely, interesting people. As a reader, I enjoyed spending time with them. And Toulouse is, well, strangely compelling. Woodrow's voice as the narrator is earnest and a little bit droll.
The story opens up some questions and never closes them: How did such an unusual student such as Toulouse end up in an average American school? Does Mr. Longwood know a bit more about Toulouse's background than he lets on? Woodrow figures out part of the secret, but he swears that "no one will ever find out from [him]." The abrupt and ambiguous ending gives me hope that a sequel is one the way. Perhaps I will have a chance to spend a bit more time with Woodrow and learn more about Toulouse.