Bingo Brown and the Language of Love - Softcover

Byars, Betsy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140341412 ISBN 13: 9780140341416

Publisher: Puffin Books, 2002

Synopsis

As fifth-grader Bingo Brown strives for the triumphs of today and steels himself against the tribulations of tomorow, he discovers that he will have to undergo a few more trials and triumphs before growing up.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- Will Bingo survive the summer, now that the love of his life, Melissa, has moved to Bixby, Okla.? Can he actually produce 36 dinners for his parents to pay off the gigantic phone bill for calls to Bixby? How will he and his dad manage when his mom goes home to her mom with a problem Bingo can't figure out? After he does find out, how will he handle becoming a brother at the advanced age of 12? Most important, can he really teach his pesky neighbor, Wentworth, how to have a successful mixed-sex conversation, while he himself becomes an expert in "the language of love?" In this rollicking sequel to The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown (Viking, 1988), Bingo's parents become major players, and their sympathetic portrayal helps to illuminate Bingo's character as well. The very different reactions of the Browns to the news of the impending birth of Bingo's sibling form the basis of the plot. This is not as serious or gripping a theme as the suicide issue confronting the sixth grade class in the first book, but Bingo's groping steps toward maturity as he accepts and deals with the changes in his family provide a foil for the humorous, often hilarious anecdotes. Byars is at her best when creating believable situations and dialogue for her pre-adolescent character, and the crazy love triangles featuring Bingo at the uncomfortable center are right on target. Bingo is certainly having an eventful summer, and sharing his vacation woes and triumphs will provide pleasurable reading for all seasons. --Martha Rosen, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Bingo, that incomparable optimist from The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown , returns with even bigger issues to challenge him and charm readers. Melissa, the love of his life, has moved away, and Bingo is hit first with an enormous long-distance telephone bill and then with the empty feeling that comes when love wanes. In addition to his romantic problems, his parents have acquired strange habits (his mother runs away to her own mother's house) and a girl who is physically well-developed keeps forcing Bingo to engage in conversation. Bingo, with his wry, self-mocking tone, is just enough of a stumble-bum to bring laughs, but sensitive and thoughtful enough to make his exploits seem grounded in realism. He is such a romantic, and a heart-breaker to boot--surely one of Byars's most enduring characters. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0140341412
• ISBN 13: 9780140341416
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144