Hank Zipzer Series

It’s graduation time for Hank Zipzer and all his friends— time to move on from PS 87 to middle school. Trouble is, there are tests Hank has to pass to get into the same middle schools as his friends, and his learning differences might get in the way. Luckily, a life-altering audition at a performing arts middle school helps him find his true path.

When Hank first heard that his mom was having a baby boy, he wasn’t so thrilled. And when he finds out that the baby will be sharing his room, Hank is positively outraged! To make things easier, Dad suggests he take Hank and Emily away for some bonding. But on the first day of their trip, a freak snowstorm arrives. And then they get a call that the baby is coming early! Hank, Dad, and Emily know they have to get home – and fast! They hop on a train, hitch a ride on a dump truck, jump on a snowmobile, and climb into a dogsled, all in a desperate attempt to get home in time for Baby Zipzer’s birth.

Hank enters his dog Cheerio in a show, hoping to win the big prize. Unfortunately for Hank, Nick McKelty and his gassy little Chihuahua have the same thing in mind. Will Hank and Cheerio be able to take home the ribbon for Best in Show?

When Ms. Adolf hurts her back in a tango contest and goes on longterm leave, Mr. Rock (the music teacher) is called in as the sub. Hank is psyched . . . until Mr. Rock suggests that Hank attend an after-school reading program, which means he’ll miss tae kwon do. But when Hank gets a crush on a girl in the reading program, and when Mr. Rock says that instead of writing his autobiography (a class assignment), Hank can present his life in scrapbook form, well . . . life’s looking good. Then Hank finds out that his crush is actually the cousin of his nemesis, McKelty!Readers will love Hank’s newest adventure, plus they will adore reading Hank’s scrapbook, which includes black-and-white photos of his school and neighborhood, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and more!

One afternoon, Hank overhears his mom and Frankie’s mom talking about having a baby. Having a baby!? It must be Frankie’s mom that they’re talking about! Frankie will go crazy when he hears about this! Hank worries about how to break the news to his best friend, until he finds out that it’s his own mother who is pregnant! How could she do this to him? One annoying sibling is enough. Hank definitely did not order this baby!

Hank’s dad has decided to enter a crossword-puzzle tournament, and he wants to make a family road trip of it! So the family piles into the car—along with Frankie and Katherine the iguana (Hank and Emily each get to bring a “friend”). When they reach their destination, they’ll get to spend the day at a roller-coaster park during Hank’s dad’s tournament! The only caveat is that Hank has a homework packet to finish before they get there . . . which he somehow manages to lose at a stop along the way. Suddenly, Hank doesn’t feel so good . . . Can Hank and Frankie rescue the lost packet and get Hank on a roller coaster?

Hank Zipzer is failing math, so he has to work with Heather Payne, resident class brain, to help get his grades up. At the same time, Hank’s school is putting on a production of The King and I. As coincidence would have it, Hank is cast as the King, and Heather as Anna. But when Hank’s dad tells him he can only appear in the play if he gets a B on his next math test, Hank knows he has to hit the books. Can Hank pull through in time for the show?

On Halloween day, Hank comes to school dressed in what he thinks is the perfect costume-a table in an Italian restaurant. Nick McKelty, the resident school bully (dressed in a total blood and guts costume), thinks Hank’s costume is wimpy and that Hank wouldn’t know how to be scary and gross if his life depended on it! So Hank decides to create the scariest haunted house ever and invite McKelty over to show him what scary really is. The only problem is that Hank’s dog, Cheerio, is scared of Hank’s haunted house. So scared, in fact, that when Hank tries to find him, he’s nowhere in sight! Have Hank’s Halloween hijinks gone too far?

Hank thought that getting through summer school to get to the fifth grade would be hard enough, but little did he know that it would get worse! Everyone in the fifth grade is starting to focus on a sport—and they’re really good. Everyone, that is, except Hank. When Papa Pete suggests that Hank take up Ping-Pong, he decides to give it a try but keeps it top secret, as he thinks the other kids will tease him about it not being a “real” sport. Hank is so good that he manages to Ping-Pong his way to the championship! But when he finds out the contest is being held at “Nick the Tick” McKelty’s family bowling alley, will he risk being the laughingstock of the fifth grade?

Summer school are two words in the English language that Hank Zipzer doesn’t want to learn. But there’s no getting out of this one for Hank-summer school, here he comes! Will Hank have to spend the summer bored to death inside a sweltering classroom, or will he actually learn a cool lesson or two?

It’s time for the end of year parent-teacher conference, and Hank’s in a panic. He’s afraid that his teacher is going to tell his parents that he has to repeat the fourth grade. So Hank creates an elaborate scheme to have his parents win an out-of-town trip so they’re gone during the conference days. Of course, the plan backfires. Will Hank have to stay in fourth grade forever?

PS 87 is having multicultural week, and Ms. Adolf’s class is putting on a “Foods from Around the World” luncheon. Hank is thrilled&150no reading, no outlining, and no review questions, just cooking! Hank makes enchiladas, and at the luncheon, Ms. Adolf piles her plate with lots of food. But after a few bites, her face turns bright red&150one of the dishes is super-spicy! Ms. Adolf accuses someone of playing a mean practical joke, and punishes the entire class with no recess until the guilty party comes forward. Hank realizes his trouble with numbers might have caused the problem&150what if he accidentally used three cups of peppers instead of 1/3 cup? Will Hank be able to get recess back for everyone without getting detention for the rest of his life?

Hank is thrilled about the “Best Field Trip of the Year”-everyone from Ms. Adolph’s class gets to spend the night on an old-fashioned three-mast sailing ship in New York Harbor!  And Hank gets even more excited when the ship’s captain chooses him to be the first mate.  But being first mate is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially for a crazy captain who takes his job a little too seriously.  The best field trip of the year is becoming the worst night of Hank’s life-how’s he going to get out of this one?

Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.

PS 87 is having multicultural week, and Ms. Adolf’s class is putting on a “Foods From Around the World” luncheon. Hank makes enchiladas, and at the luncheon, Ms. Adolf piles her plate with lots of food. But after a few bites, her face turns bright red-one of the dishes is super-spicy! Ms. Adolf accuses someone of playing a mean practical joke and punishes the entire class with no recess until the guilty party comes forward. Hank realizes his trouble with numbers might have caused the problem-what if he accidentally used three cups of peppers instead of 1/3 cup? Will Hank be able to get recess back for everyone without getting detention for the rest of his life?

Illustrated by Carol Heyer.

It’s science-project time in Ms. Adolf’s class, and Hank is in the doldrums. He loves science–the experiments, the labs, the equipment–but he hates the report part–the hypothesis, the methodology, the conclusions. Hank turns to TV to take his mind off things, which becomes another annoyance when the program directory scrolls by too quickly for Hank to know what’s on when. So he decides to take apart the cable box to try slowing down the crawl. And it’ll make a great science project, too! But Hank wasn’t counting on his sister Emily’s iguana laying eighteen eggs in the disassembled cable box!

How’s Hank going to get out of this one?