Bruno and Boots

Bruno and Boots is the name of a series of young adult novels by author Gordon Korman.

The series is set in a Canadian boarding school for boys called Macdonald Hall (named after John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada), located near the city of Toronto along Highway 48 and seven miles south of the fictitious town of Chutney.[1]

The lead characters are Bruno Walton and Melvin "Boots" O'Neal, MacDonald Hall students who have a well earned reputation for mischief. For all their troublemaking, however, the pair have a deep loyalty to the school and many of the books have them and their friends going to great lengths to support it. It is unknown how old they are, but it is safe to assume they are around 13 or 14.

The school's headmaster is William R. Sturgeon, also known as "The Fish" by the students. This unwanted nickname comes not only from his name, but also from his bespectacled fish-like appearance when he glares disapprovingly at his students. While he is a firm disciplinarian with a carefully cultivated authoritative image, he also cares deeply for his school and the children under his care. His wife cares just as much for the students, and whenever Bruno and Boots come by, she offers them cookies and milk. She isn't as strict as her husband.

Across the street is another school, Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies. However, despite the obtuse headmistress's best efforts, the girls there are even more rambunctious than the boys of Macdonald Hall, and are always ready for whatever fun that Bruno and Boots have in mind. Miss Scrimmage happens to own a shotgun which she uses to threaten anyone who disturbs the peace or comes by her school, but she has poor control of it and is prone to accidental shootings in random directions.

At times, the two schools have joined forces, such as in The War with Mr. Wizzle, wherein Mr. Sturgeon gains a new assistant principal, Mr. Wizzle, who is a firm believer in categorizing and "computerizing" MacDonald Hall. Meanwhile, Miss Scrimmage hires a former drill instructor as her assistant; afterward, the two student bodies team up to send the new staff "as far as they can afford to send them" before the school board decides that keeping them at the school is a good idea.

Contents

Bruno and Boots/Macdonald Hall Books

The first book in the series was written when Korman was in Grade Seven. The briefest of the series, the book introduces the school and its boys. Bruno and Boots are separated as roommates after committing three pranks at the hockey match against their arch-rival, York Academy; Bruno moves in with Elmer Drimsdale, the school genius, whereas Boots moves in with the school financial genius and resident hypochondriac, George Wexford-Smyth III. The boys scheme to convince Mr. Sturgeon ("The Fish"), the headmaster, to allow them to move back to Room 306.

York Academy has a pool; Macdonald Hall does not. While annoying, this has never bothered the Macdonald Hall students much...until some of the boys report that their parents believe that the richer sports opportunities available at York will prompt them to transfer their sons to Macdonald Hall's biggest rival. The boys scheme to get a pool...a better pool than York Academy.

Macdonald Hall is closing! Their school is in jeopardy and the best way to save it, according to Bruno, is to get the word out about how great their school is. Bruno leads a scheme to get the name of Macdonald Hall known all over Canada. To blow off steam, Bruno starts playing with one of Elmer Drimsdale's inventions and starts a police investigation into the activities of the operative known as "The Fish."

Macdonald Hall is inefficient. Miss Scrimmage's school is out-of-shape. Enter Walter C. Wizzle and his computer to improve the Hall, and Miss Peabody, the new girls' physical education coach. The schools team up to get rid of Wizzle and Peabody.

Hank Carson, a millionaire former football player, now makes his money in the zucchini stick business. A former student at Macdonald Hall, he wants a winning football team at his alma mater, so the boys try to make him happy by "eating" his horrible zucchini sticks and making the best plays possible. In order to succeed, the pair scheme to create the zucchini disposal squad and disguise their quarterback, who comes from Miss Scrimmage's!

Jordie Jones, a superstar Hollywood actor, is shooting a movie at Macdonald Hall, and also wants to spend some time with the boys to get a feel for life in the school. Unfortunately, Bruno hates him. And if Bruno doesn't like someone, Bruno will scheme to get rid of him!

Boots' little brother, Edward, has arrived to start his first year at Macdonald Hall. Bruno can't wait to teach him all he knows, but there is such a thing as going "too far," and generally Bruno and Boots do a good job of keeping their pranks funny, and backing off when prudent. They pride themselves on being totally honest with the headmaster. But someone is pranking at the hall, and he isn't stopping! Bruno and Boots have to clear their name or they risk expulsion!

Bruno and Boots/Macdonald Hall Characters

Macdonald Hall Students

Mark Davies - The school newspaper editor. He lives in Dormitory 2. [2]

Elmer Drimsdale - The school's genius. He has various projects which threaten to take over his room including: ants[3], plants[4], He wakes up at 6:00 a.m. each day to tend to these various projects before breakfast.[5] He lives in Dormitory 2.[6]

Calvin "The Beast" Fitzgart - Nicknamed himself "The Beast" to improve his football image, he uprooted a small shrub to show what he would do to the other team[7]. He tried to get pulled out of a game due to what the nurse pronounced "a bruise," however, so his actual football skill is questionable. [8]

Wilbur Hackenschleimer - A large boy, he is known for having a voracious appetite. He is a weight lifter, and talented at woodworking and metal shop.[9] He lives in Dormitory 1.[10]

Melvin "Boots" O'Neal - A studious brown-haired boy who enjoys swimming[11], he has a younger brother, Edward.[12]

Sydney Rampulsky - He is well-known for his clumsiness.

Chris Talbot - He lives in Dormitory 1 and is also known for his art and makes some posters to advertise Bruno's schemes.[13]

Bruno Walton - Full of schemes, he is the one who spearheads the organization of the plots. Like Boots, he is honest, and if asked by the headmaster about his participation in a given scheme, will admit to what he has done. He was not a Jordie Jones fan. [14].

George Wexford-Smythe III - A financial genius who is obsessed with the stock market[15], he also keeps his bathroom stocked with medicines[16]. He also sanitizes his room every second day, washing everything in his room, including the ceiling and the walls, to prevent illness[17]. He lives in Dormitory 1. [18]

Larry Wilson - He works in the office, and delivers messages.

Macdonald Hall Staff

Mr. Alex (Coach) Flynn - The phy. ed teacher and coach.

Mr. Fudge - The housemaster in charge of Dormitory 3. He sleeps fairly soundly.

Mr. Lautrec - The industrial arts teacher

James (Jim) R. Snow - The chairman of the Board of Directors of Macdonald Hall.

Mr. Stratton - A math teacher

Mildred Sturgeon - The headmaster's wife who frequently reminds him to be less strict.

William Sturgeon aka "The Fish" - The Headmaster. He and his wife live on the school grounds in their own home. His nickname comes from the cold, fishy stare, he can use on his students.[19]

Mr. Walter C. Wizzle - A modernization expert sent, with his computer, to improve the school's efficiency in "The War With Mr. Wizzle."

Mrs. Davis - The school secretary

Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies

Miss Scrimmage - The headmistress. She owns a shotgun to protect her young ladies, and fires it in the air whenever the school is being 'invaded' by the Macdonald Hall boys. Her school was ranked as 217th, in contrast to Macdonald Hall's number one spot.[20]

Cathy Burton - The Bruno-equivalent, Cathy is good at football and can even play quarterback, though she played under Elmer's name so she could join the team at Macdonald Hall.[21] She has dark hair.

Diane Grant - The Boots-equivalent, Diane has blonde hair, and is more timid about Cathy's schemes. She has a pet skunk called Petunia.[22]

Miss Gloria Peabody - Miss Scrimmage's assistant headmistress during "The War With Mr. Wizzle." She previously worked at a Marine training center in Seattle, WA. [23]

Other Recurring Characters

Mr. Hartley--The Headmaster at York Academy, the rival school to Macdonald Hall

Notes

  1. ^ Korman, Gordon (1986). "Room 13". Beware the Fish!. Bruno and Boots. Scholastic. p. 48. ISBN 0590403540. 
  2. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  3. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 16
  4. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 27
  5. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 26
  6. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  7. ^ Korman, Gordon. "The Zucchini Warriors." New York: Scholastic, 1988. p.67 ISBN 059041335X
  8. ^ Korman, Gordon. "The Zucchini Warriors." New York: Scholastic, 1988. p.77 ISBN 059041335X
  9. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  10. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  11. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.1
  12. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall." New York: Scholastic, 1995. p.3
  13. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  14. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood." New York: Scholastic, 1991. p.6
  15. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 18
  16. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 19
  17. ^ Korman, Gordon. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall. New York: Scholastic, 1978. p. 33
  18. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.12
  19. ^ Korman, Gordon. "Go Jump in the Pool." New York: Scholastic, 1979. p.7
  20. ^ Korman, Gordon. "The Zucchini Warriors." New York: Scholastic, 1988. p.37 ISBN 059041335X
  21. ^ Korman, Gordon. "The Zucchini Warriors." New York: Scholastic, 1988. p.55 ISBN 059041335X
  22. ^ Korman, Gordon. "This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall." New York: Scholastic, 1978. p.46-47
  23. ^ Korman, Gordon. "The War With Mr. Wizzle." New York: Scholastic, 1982. p.35