One-Third Nerd

Gennifer Choldenko's One-Third Nerd is a funny family story for 8 year olds about a boy, his two little sisters and a dog who's started weeing indoors.

What happens

Liam is ten and in fifth grade, which he'll tell you is no place for beginners. You have to watch how nerdy you look. A little is fine. Too much and you're done for.

He could cope with all that if it weren't for his sisters. Dakota is eight and mad about science (she keeps wee samples from the whole family in the fridge, for comparison). Izzy is seven, has an extra chromosome and hugs absolutely everybody, from the crossing guard to the grumpy landlord.

Cupcake is the other worry. She's started having accidents on the rugs, and the family live in a flat right underneath that landlord, Mr Torpse. The vet wants tests that could cost three thousand dollars. Once Mr Torpse finds out, Mum starts talking about finding Cupcake somewhere else to live.

So how do you raise that sort of money when you're ten? The kids try everything, including a kitty-litter tray (Cupcake is NOT interested). Meanwhile Dakota's exploding-watermelon experiment brings the police to the door.

Liam tells the whole thing himself, so you get every cringe. He's mortified by his sisters one minute and sticking up for them the next. When nobody turns up to Dakota's new club at playtime and she ends up hiding under the library table, it's Liam and his quiet friend Dodge who go in and join.

Izzy is written with lots of warmth. Liam says honestly that she has to try ten times harder at school, and that he thinks the extra chromosome makes her nicer.

It's set in America (dollars, fifth grade, San Francisco Bay), and Mum and Dad have split up. That's part of everyday family life here rather than a big drama.

If you've got a reader who's the eldest and knows exactly how it feels to be embarrassed by a younger sibling, they'll feel right at home.

What to read next

If they'd like another big sister narrating the chaos a little one causes, try Wild Thing. Kate's sister has just got a toy guitar stuck up her nose, and that's only the start of the day.