{"product_id":"word-nerd-hardcover","title":"Word Nerd - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSusin Nielsen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described \"friendless nerd,\" he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich -- even though they know he has a deathly allergy -- Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose's Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There's only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who's searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGemini Award-winner Susin Nielsen got her start feeding cast and crew muffins and bologna sandwiches on the popular television series, \u003ci\u003eDegrassi Junior High\u003c\/i\u003e. They hated her food (a fact that's memorialized forever in a poem the cast wrote: \"An ode to Susin, the Bran Muffin Queen, we eat them, we die, then we turn green\"). Luckily for Susin, they saw a spark in a spec script she wrote. Nielsen went on to pen sixteen episodes of the hit television show, and four of the books in the Degrassi book series. Since then, Nielsen, who has received two Canadian Screenwriter awards, has written and story-edited many TV series, including \u003ci\u003eReady or Not\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMadison\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Adventures of Shirley Holmes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEdgemont\u003c\/i\u003e, and two animated series, W\u003ci\u003ehat About Mimi\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBraceface\u003c\/i\u003e. She co-created the pre-school series \u003ci\u003eFranny's Feet\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the co-creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed series \u003ci\u003eRobson Arms\u003c\/i\u003e. She also adapted author Susan Juby's book, \u003cb\u003eAlice, I Thin\u003c\/b\u003ek, into a TV series. Nielsen has also published three children's books: \u003cb\u003eHank and Fergus\u003c\/b\u003e, winner of the Mr. Christie's Silver Medal Award, \u003cb\u003eMormor Moves In\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eThe Magic Beads\u003c\/b\u003e. She lives in Vancouver with her husband, Goran, son, Oskar, and cat, Sam.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.86 x 7.88 x 6.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 09, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAward:\u003c\/strong\u003e Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award (2010)\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAward:\u003c\/strong\u003e IndieFab awards (2008)\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccelerated Reader:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eQuiz Name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Word Nerd\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInterest Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e Middle Grades, 4-8\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReading Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e 4.8\u003c\/div\u003e\n                \n                \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePoint Value:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7\u003c\/div\u003e\n                ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42174492639367,"sku":"9780887768750","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/e5f3f2b58fbd1711463494d3a09c8c1f.webp?v=1733374485","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/word-nerd-hardcover","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}