Judge A Book By Its Cover

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. A Traitor Among the Boys. A Yearling Book. New York, New York. 1999.

The best part about being a kid is getting in trouble by pulling great tricks and pranks. The book, A Traitor Among the Boys, brings back to life all the adventures and thrills you experience as a young kid. The author, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, definitely knows how to put a smile on anyone's face, which he does very well with this book.

Growing up we all remember the battles between boys and girls. The boys always made up wars while the girls ran away screaming. This book brings back all those exciting memories. Its about a group of young boys who love to annoy the sweet innocent girls.

The fifth grade pack of boys liked hanging out at the basketball courts, but the what they enjoyed most was picking on the girls. The younger boys follow around the oldest boy named Tim. Tim is an only child and carries an attitude that shows no fear. The other boys want to be just like him. All of them that is except for Little John. Little John was always being bossed around by the older boys, especially Tim. None of the boys took Little John seriously just because he was younger then them.

Through out the year the boys would come up with ways to bother the three neighborhood girls. The three girls were also in fifth grade but much smarter then the boys. Although the boys came up with sly tactics, the girls always knew what was coming from Little John, and would arranged a better plan to beat them at their own game.

The boys began to realize that Little John was against them. They caught Little John one afternoon telling the girls what the boys next move was going to be. One day in the winter, the boys planned a surprise attack on the girls without Little John knowing. As the girls opened their front door the boys began throwing snowballs. As the boys started this war Little John came behind them to save the girls. He was to late. Then a huge storm rolled in over there heads and the older boys started to run for the door. Once they got there they threw Little John back out in the cold and held the girls hostage inside. Little John got very furious. He was going to be the girls hero and figure out away to teach the older boys a lesson. He was ready to step up and be brave!

If you enjoy childhood stories and the act of bravery you should consider A Traitor Among Boys by Phyllis Naylor. Its characters are very charming and realistic. This book also deals with heroes and bully just like many kids do in their childhood. Some might say they feel like they are reliving their past by reading this book.

3 out of 5 stars

Contributed by C. Brown
Jan. 18th, 2007