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Summary
Summary
A hilarious new series from Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver, authors of the bestselling Hank Zipzer books!
Billy Broccoli is a boy with questions: about his new school, his new stepfamily...his whole new life, in fact.
Hoover Porterhouse is a ghost with all the answers.
When a trick of fate makes them roommates, Billy discovers that having a ghost around might not be so bad after all. The Hoover is funny and cool, a great baseball player, and is a real people person (even if Billy is the only one who can see him). And with obnoxious school bullies out to demolish him, Billy can use all of the advice he can get. With Hoover by his side, Billy just might get in style, get even, and conquer the school.
Author Notes
Born in Manhattan, NY in 1945, Henry Winkler rose to fame as television's "The Fonz" on the 1970's sitcom, Happy Days. In 1970, Winkler graduated from the Yale School of Drama and went on to act in various commercials before being cast as Arthur Fonzarelli. After Happy Days, Winkler went on to produce and direct various television shows, as well as continue acting in co-starring roles in movies such as "Scream" and "The Waterboy". Along with his acting and directing career, Henry Winkler is a children's advocate who helped to found the Children's Action Network which helps to provide immunization to children at no charge. He is also involved with several other children's charities and began writing the Hank Zipzer series in 2003 which centers around an adventurous boy with dyslexia.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hank Zipzer collaborators Winkler and Oliver launch the Ghost Buddy series, introducing an endearingly uncool hero with the dorky name of Billy Broccoli. Despite his acute clumsiness and preference for wearing fart-themed T-shirts, Billy is articulate, witty, and good-hearted. None of which, unfortunately, will win him popularity in his new middle school, especially since his mother is the principal. This new series would fall clearly into the genre of silly realistic fiction were it not for the presence of a 113-year-old ghost, Hoover Porterhouse, into whose room Billy has just moved, and who undertakes the task of turning Billy into a hip and agile 11-year-old. After Billy's initial fright, he accepts the ghost's company and guidance while Hoover, forever age 14, struggles with his own ghostly goals. An amusing cast of broadly drawn secondary characters play their expected roles-snobby older half-sister, embarrassing mother and stepfather, pretty and kind classmate, and neighborhood bully with an embarrassing secret. Readers will root for Billy to conquer his klutziness as well as the bully; his final feel-good triumph is satisfying. Ages 8-12. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Soon-to-be sixth-grader Billy Broccoli has a new family (his mother has recently remarried), a new school, and a new room, which unfortunately still bears the pink pony wallpaper of its previous occupant. It also comes with its own ghost, Hoover Porterhouse. The Hoove is everything that Billy is not: confident, mischievous, and gifted with fashion sense (well, for 99 years ago). The Hoove is also in danger of failing his ghost exams if he cannot pass Responsibility and Helping Others. Billy's goals, on the other hand, are to avoid public humiliation and make some friends. Can the two boys, who are initially at odds, learn to cooperate and help each other reach their goals? Much like Billy and Hoover's relationship, the series is a work in progress as it lays the groundwork for future installments. Billy and Hoover have a snappy repartee, although the Hoove sometimes sounds more modern than turn of the twentieth century. Billy is a likable protagonist whose trials and tribulations should resonate with middle-school boys. This odd couple shows promise.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Eleven-year-old Billy Broccoli's name is only the start of his problems in the coolness department. He's also plagued by a fondness for T-shirts with fart jokes on them, and he has the grace of a clown with two left feet. Now he is starting at a new school, and his supreme dorkiness is sure to cause him trouble. Fortunately, he has an ally: the ghost of 12-year-old Hoover Porterhouse III, who is stuck haunting the house that Billy's family has just moved into. Hoover is the sultan of cool and coaches Billy on what to wear and how to act. Despite his best efforts, though, the boy's first days of school are disastrous, mostly due to a bully named Rod Brownstone. Hoover calls for revenge, but in the end Billy manages to stand up to Rod. Billy is still nerdy at the story's conclusion, but it looks as though Hoover will be sticking around, which means that there may be hope for him yet. This title is chock-full of nuggets that will have boys cheering, from the grossness of Billy's embalmed tonsil to the hilarity of Rod's attachment to his baby blanket. What's more, parents and educators will cheer when Billy stands up to Rod without resorting to bullying tactics. Readers may wonder how Hoover died, but hopefully the authors will reveal more about the sassy apparition as the series progresses.-Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Fantasy. 10-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From The Ghost With the Most: Zero to Hero Suddenly, without warning, Billy's entire baseball jersey flew out of the closet and floated across the room, the red and white sleeves fluttering in the darkness. The jersey came to a stop in front of the mirror on the back of his door. Billy became aware of a strange whirring next to his bed. He whipped around and saw that the numbers on his digital alarm clock were going haywire, spinning like crazy, racing forward and backward like some unknown force was controlling them. Impulsively, Billy grabbed the clock and threw it at the jersey, which was still twisting itself this way and that, looking at its reflection in the mirror. Unfortunately, Billy had forgotten to unplug the clock before he flung it, and it boomeranged back at him, heading right for his face. He ducked just in time to see it land on the floor next to his bed. "Hey, you better pull up on your hand break, Georgie Boy," the teenage voice said. "Violence is never the answer." All Billy could think about was that this voice, so confident and so invisible, was coming from an empty, floating shirt. "Who are you?" he screamed. "Where are you? What are you? Why are you?" The shirt didn't answer. It spun around and headed toward Billy, who had pushed his body flat against the wall, hoping it would open up and let him escape. "Do you think these sleeves are too long on me?" the shirt said. "I can't have then interfering with my fastball when I'm on the mound." "Too long for what?" Billy asked. "You don't have any arms. Or any body, for that matter." "That's where you're wrong, Georgie Boy." "Billy." "Fine, Billy Boy. I have a body. Or at least, I had one before I died. And it was a magnificent sight to behold, if I say so myself. Which I have no trouble doing." "Are you telling me you're a ghost?" Billy asked. His voice quivered even thought he was trying to be composed. Excerpted from Zero to Hero by Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
