Carol Gorman: A Midsummer Nights Dork

Books by Carol Gorman

Gorman, Carol. A Midsummer Night's Dork. HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN: 0-06-050719-5 (lib bdg); 0-06-050718-7 (trade) $15.99. 224 pg. Ages 8-12, Grades 3-7

A Midsummer Night's Dork

by Carol Gorman
A novel for young readers.

Life as a sixth-grade dork:
comedy or tragedy?

Now that Jerry Flack is sixth-grade class president, he can't wait to come up with cool things for his class. In order to raise money, Jerry and his friends decide to put to use what they're learning about Shakespeare and host an Elizabethan festival.

But before he knows what has happened, Jerry's gotten himself into a terrible mess with the one boy who will do anything to make him look like a dork. And when Jerry decides to help a new friend rise from the all-too-familiar depths of dorkdom, the social scene at school gets more complicated than ever. Can Jerry get out of a jam without turning himself into the biggest dork in town?

###

This third book about Jerry Flack begins: "Jerry Flack was late for school. He galloped along the sidewalk, his athletic shoes slapping a contrasting rhythm to his ragged gasps for air.

He had never been late to school in his whole life. Only four minutes before the bell rings, he thought. Can't slow down till I hit the school grounds.
The normal walk from home took a little over twelve minutes, provided that his pace was his usual three and a half miles per hour. He'd worked out the timing perfectly so that he'd always arrive ten minutes before the first bell. That way, he could hang out with his girlfriend, Brenda McAdams, for a while before they had to go inside.
But on this morning ...

Comments and Reviews:

"... the sixth grade committee has decided to create an Elizabethan Festival to coincide with reading A Midsummer Night's Dream in language-arts class. ... [readers] realize that popularity is more than beauty and coolness; integrity and compassion are what actually make a person cool. This honest portrayal of preteen socialization will entertain and enlighten." - School Library Journal

"Any novel that centers on an endangered puppy risks going over the top, but Gorman nails the complex social structures of the sixth-grade world, making this an entertaining addition to the series." - Booklist

"What dorks these mortals be." Such is one of the lessons of sixth-grade life in A Midsummer Night's Dork by Carol Gorman, which follows Dork in Disguise and Dork on the Run. Class president and definitive dork Jerry Flack shifts between numerous humiliations and triumphs while preparing for the Elizabethan festival. The story loosely parallels Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, while also continuing the series' equally Shakespearean ideal of "to thine own self be true." - Publishers Weekly 3/15/05 "Children's Notes: And Then What Happens?"

Named to the "New and Notable Children's Books: Chapter Books" May 2004; by the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

"Third in a series, Iowa author Carol Gorman's A Midsummer Night's Dork (HarperCollins, 2004) is a fine addition to middle-school fiction about kids who are different and walking that line between fitting in and being true to one's self." - Featured title at the University of Iowa Curriculum Center's Featured books - May 2004.

Connections to Make

Since Gorman's title relies heavily on drawing connections to Shakespeare's Midnight Summer's Dream readers understanding of the novel will be enhanced with an understanding of Shakespeare's story. There are many unabridged editions readily available but for the younger reader one might use Bruce Coville's picture book abridgement William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream (Dial, 1996).

Shakespeare in Contemporary Literature -- A list compiled by librarian Heidi Anne Heiner

Read Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream with Carol Gorman's contemporary title, Midsummer Night's Dork, that uses a similar theme/plot structure.