That got a quick laugh from the crowd, and Alec went on. “But I thought about it a lot, and the Losers Club is actually a pretty good name. In the school library there’s an old Book Week poster that says ‘Get Lost in a Book.’ Well, we do that. We lose ourselves in books for hours and hours—books about all kinds of people and tons of different places. Then we come back, and we bring things with us. When we get lost like that, I think we find all kinds of cool stuff.” Alec pointed down at one of his book covers. “Like that book, I Am LeBron James? Before I read it, I never knew what a hard time he had as a kid, and then he went on to be an MVP! And the book Hatchet? I’ve read that story so many times that if I ever got lost in the wilderness? I’d be scared, but I’d have a lot of good ideas about how to stay alive, and I wouldn’t feel totally helpless or ignorant. Because books do that—they make us lose some ignorance, and lose some fear. And losing fear might mean losing some anger, too.
“So, that’s about it. We’re the Losers Club.” He paused, but only for a second. “And there’s one more thing. I get called a bookworm a lot. But that’s not a good description.” Alec unzipped his sweatshirt and pulled it off so everyone could see the design on his T-shirt. “Because I’m not a bookworm—I’m a bookhawk. We all are!”
The clapping and cheering that started up sounded so loud that Alec felt embarrassed. The visitors and other kids began to gather around him, around all the club members, and they kept on applauding, more and more as people left the bleachers and crowded onto the gym floor.
And during that applause? A lot happened to Alec.
His parents hurried over, and he got a big hug from his mom.
“That was so good, Alec—really great!”
“Fantastic!” his dad said. “Perfect rebranding!”
Luke arrived, and he made Alec bend down so he could hear: “Well have you done!”
Alec slapped him on the back and said, “No—well have we done! The T-shirt image is great—thanks!”
Jason rushed up, still holding on to his stream of book covers, waving it in Alec’s face. “This is so awesome! I’m gonna keep this thing forever!”
Mrs. Case shook Alec’s hand, then said to his parents, “I’ve been director here for five years, and that was the best open house presentation I have ever seen! Congratulations, Alec—wonderful, wonderful!” And then she dashed over and hugged Julia and the other kids from the chatty table—her table.
And Mrs. Vance was next, shaking his dad’s hand first, then his mom’s, and then Alec’s. She fixed her large eyes on him and said, “This year is off to an excellent start, and I’m very happy for you—keep it up!”
Looking behind him, Alec spotted Dave Hampton—and with him? Kent, bent over the trail of book covers, pointing and smiling—more than half of Dave’s 103 books were about sports. As Alec watched, Kent looked up and caught his eye. He gave Alec an almost friendly nod. Alec grinned at him, pointed at the word on his T-shirt and then at Kent.
The clapping began to die down, and Alec glanced to his left. Nina was laughing with Richie, and her mom and dad looked so proud of her.
Nina turned his way and smiled at him.
A part of Alec’s mind did what that part of his mind always did—it tried to find a moment in some book, a moment that felt this way, a moment that had this much happiness, this much intensity, this much life.
But only one thought came to him—This is better than the best book I’ve ever read!
And Alec was right.
Here’s a list of the books enjoyed by the characters in The Losers Club. I’ve tried to make the kids in the story feel like real readers of real books. With so many wonderful books available today, don’t be surprised if some of your favorites aren’t mentioned in this novel—a lot of my own favorites are missing, too! And, of course, the point isn’t to race through a great long list of books, but to really love reading one great book at a time.
Wishing you many happy page-turns,
“All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce
The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen
Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The High King (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I Am Stephen Curry by Jon Fishman
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
LeBron’s Dream Team: How Five Friends Made History by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
The River by Gary Paulsen
The Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury
Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (written by many authors)
Star Wars series (written by many authors)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss
Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries) by Rachel Renée Russell
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
George Clements
ANDREW CLEMENTS is the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved modern classic Frindle, which has sold over six million copies, won nineteen state awards (and been nominated for thirty-eight!), and been translated into over a dozen languages around the world. Andrew began writing as a public school teacher outside of Chicago, where he read many of the titles mentioned in this book with his students. Called the “master of school stories” by Kirkus Reviews, Andrew is now the author of over eighty acclaimed books for kids. He lives in Maine with his wife, Becky. They have four grown sons and two rascally cats. Visit Andrew online at andrewclements.com.
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