Loser

Loser is a young adult novel published in 2002 by American author and Newbury Medal winner Jerry Spinelli. It tells the story of Donald Zinkoff, an eccentric goofball of a kid who stumbles enthusiastically through his elementary school years, largely without friends, before becoming an accidental hero in middle school. Written entirely in the present tense, Loser garnering several awards and nominations.

Plot Summary

At first, the other kids don’t notice little Donald Zinkoff, except to see that he’s usually happy even when alone. Donald runs and jumps just for the joy of it. The kids challenge each other to races, stone-throwing contests, and farting competitions. Everyone but Donald wins at something.

On his first day of school, Donald gets into trouble—he wears a hat shaped like a giraffe’s head, and he’s so enthusiastic, his teacher struggles to control him. When a fourth grader bullies him for his hat, he offers it up cheerfully. Although Donald can barely write his name, he loves school and considers every day an adventure. His mom gives him silver stars for good days; he believes these stars fall from the sky and his mom picks them up for him.

One day, his teacher says “Jabip,” her word for something very far away, and Donald laughs so hard he falls off his chair. He continues giggling about Jabip for days after, and all her efforts to quiet him fail.

Over the summer, Donald gets a new baby sister, Polly, and a new neighbor his own age, Andrew. He bakes Andrew a welcome cookie, but it falls apart when he serves it and Andrew stalks off in anger. Donald ends up eating most of it and then throws up.

Donald loves to run, and soccer is the perfect game for him. He’s terrible at it, but he doesn’t care. He notices that, when boys win a match, they cheer and parade around, but when they lose, they cry and kick the turf. To fit in, he tries to copy their rude anger but merely gets in trouble with his parents. His youth team makes the playoffs, and he accidentally heads the ball into the net for the win and the championship. Andrew, on the losing side, sulks until Donald gives him his own winner’s trophy.

Mr. Zinkoff, a postal worker, can’t bring his son to Take Your Kid to Work Day—the post office forbids it—so he drives Donald around on a Sunday as Donald puts self-made mail into slots and mailboxes. Donald loves it and learns a lot about being a mailman; when there are no more envelopes to deliver, he bursts into tears.

One street sticks in his mind: Willow Street. This is where the old lady with the walker lives, who calls him “Mailman” and to whom he keeps giving how-are-you letters. Down the street lives Claudia, a toddler whose mother keeps her on a leash, and when Donald stops to chat, Claudia gives him things she found in the street, like pebbles or used chewing gum. Donald keeps the gum, which slowly hardens into a stone in his pocket.

During fourth grade, Donald’s teacher, Mr. Yalowitz, champions Donald, praising him and moving him to the front row. The other kids begin to notice him, seeing that he’s sloppy, clumsy, and not very good at his lessons. In the spring, during the Field Day festival, Mr. Yalowitz assigns Donald the important anchor position on his team’s relay race, but Donald is so slow that the team loses the race and the championship. Thereafter, kids call him “Loser.”

One day, Donald rubs his magic bubblegum stone for luck and gets his first A on a big geography test. It’s the only A that day, and for a moment Donald is treated like a hero. Still, he can hear the kids whisper “Loser” as he walks by. He visits the old lady with the walker, who listens as, weeping, he pours out his lonely heart.

On graduation day, Donald stumbles and falls on his way to receive his diploma. Everyone laughs, but somehow he doesn’t mind. That fall at middle school, Zinkoff enjoys his classes but senses himself sinking down, from “Loser” to “Nobody.”

On a cold, snowy evening, Claudia disappears, and emergency crews search the neighborhood. Donald decides to pitch in, walking the darkened alleys where kids love to play. He searches for hours, shivering, and nearly dies from exposure, but he’s found and returned safely to his home. It turns out that Claudia had long since been recovered and the city then turned its attention to rescuing Donald.

The next day, friends, relatives, and neighbors visit to see and touch the boy whose foolish quest to find a lost girl turned him into an unlikely hero. Back at school, the kids talk about Donald’s crazy heroics, but he’s still the same uncoordinated kid, trying and always failing to catch a ball.