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Publisher - Clarion Books
Ages 3-6
“Christelow hits home with a
theme to which every child can relate. the antics of the alligators
add just the right touch of light humor to the serious problem
of bullying... A delightful picture book.”
—School Library Journal
Other books about Jerome...
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| The Story: |
Jerome Alligator is going on a camping trip with his Swamp School
classmates. Jerome and his pal, P.J., are excited about swimming,
hiking, fishing and sleeping in a tent; but the class bully, Buster
Wormley, turns out to be their tent mate, and he's up to his usual
nasty tricks. How Jerome and P.J. finally turn the tables on Buster
makes a lively laugh-aloud story with a surprise ending.
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| Where did you get the idea?: |
It had been quite a few
years since I'd written a story about Jerome, the alligator. But
students at schools I was visiting were asking for more. Several
years ago, in Ogdensburg, New York, some second graders and I started
a story about Jerome camping out in his back yard with a friend.
When I got home, I started to write the story; but I got stuck.
Finally, I put the story away for a few years. Then a friend told
me about her son sharing a tent with the class bully on a school
trip. That gave me an idea for my unfinished story about Jerome.
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| Tidbits: |
Naming Characters:
Sometimes it's difficult to think of names for my characters. Jerome's
name was originally Albert, but my editor had recently published a
book about a bear named Albert, so I had to find another name. I looked
in the phone book for ideas and found the name, 'Jerome'. Jerome's
friend is named P.J. because one year I signed a lot of books for boys
named P.J. As for Buster Wormley, can you think of a better name for
a bully?
The illustrations:
- I drew the pictures with a soft black pencil.
- I xeroxed my drawings
onto smooth, light-weight watercolor paper. I like the way pencil
drawings look when run they are through a copy machine. Also,
if I mess up when I am adding color, I don't have to do the drawing
over again. I just make another copy.
- The color is painted with watercolor,
gouache and some water color crayon.
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| Other
Books About Jerome: |
Jerome has a babysitting business. The first two books
are about Jerome's babysitting adventures. Unfortunately, these books
just went out-of-print. That means the publisher sold all the books
and probably won't print more. But these books were available for
many years, so there may be a copy in your school library or town
library. See if you can find them.
- Jerome the Babysitter
- Jerome and the Witchcraft Kids
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