King of the Creeps:

by Steven Banks

Book Overview

Tom is an undersized nerd with an oversized nose. He's got frizzy hair and glasses. He's the flag monitor. He knows it--he's a creep. What girl will ever like him? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375832912
• ISBN13: 9780375832918
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 169 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

I love New York...

...and Bob Dylan, Washington Square Park, Orson Welles, Ed Sullivan, Dylan Thomas, and the White Horse Tavern. And I love Steven Banks and King of the Creeps. Even if I didn't know a thing or two about being a nerd strumming a guitar to get girls, this funny book would still speak to me. Read it.

Christian's Review

Do you ever feel like you don't fit in, or you don't belong! do people make fun of you because of how you look? If so then you should go out and look for the book King Of The Creeps. By Steven Banks. The fiction book is about nerdy kid named tom Johnson he is 17-years old kid in New York in 1963. He is short, skinny, has frizzy hair, and a big nose. The main Character, Tom Johnson, realizes that no girls go out with creeps like, him so he quickly changes and buys a guitar and learns how to play one chord. He becomes a folksinger. Then he meets a girl who writes poetry. Tom plays his guitar well and stars on the "Ed Sullivan Show." The book is 169 page long. The publisher is Alfred A. Knopf. I like this book personally because it is like a comic book but without pictures. The book had me hooked from page one. All the characters had their own way of speaking. Finally, I love the way that the book is funny in it's own way. I think that grades 7th and up, should enjoy this book. Most words are not hard to comprehend and the theme is not that hard to comprehend. You have to know who Steven Banks is. He writes books for the hit shows "Sponge Bob Square Pants," "Jimmy Neutron," and "CatDog." He was on the New York Best Seller's List! I would give this book a 4 stars out of 5. It is funny, but the author, I think, tried to be funnier than what the book should have been. Overall, King Of The Creeps is a book that a lot of kids can relate to at least once in their lifetime almost anyone can enjoy this book.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Tom Johnson is short, has a big nose, and even has frizzy hair to top it all off. Put quite simply, in Tom's own words, he's a Creep. Set against the immediate post-JFK assassination in 1963, Tom finds himself on his way to a local bridge to jump off following a traumatic Creep-related event. But on his way he finds himself staring across at a record of some folk singer that's short, has a big nose, and frizzy hair to top it all off -- Bob Dylan! Inspired by his sudden revelation of his resemblance to the legendary folk singer, Tom decides to become a folk singer, too, and make something of himself. He buys a guitar and only has time to learn one chord before a number of things happen, one of which is his meeting Angelina: the groovy, deep poet who might actually be interested in him. Before Tom knows what has happened, he and his one-chord show have a chance to do something big, something important, something Tom doesn't know if even he wants to do. In his fun and straight-ahead debut novel, Steven Banks tells the story of a new kind of protagonist who must decide for himself what the right thing to do is. KING OF THE CREEPS is a story of lame right-wing jokes, the New York folk scene in Greenwich Village, learning to speak up for yourself, getting the girl, and ultimately deciding your own fate -- and making it count. Banks himself knows twenty-eight guitar chords. Cheers to S.B. Reviewed by: Long Nguyen

I could not put it down

This was a funny, life-affirming read. I couldn't put it down. The light-hearted adventure hooked me from page one. The joy I had in reading this book was similar to the thrills I get from riding a fun rollercoaster. Steven Banks is a great writer of entertaining contemporary fiction.

Steven Banks is brilliant.

Steven Banks is a brilliant actor, writer, perofrmer, and all around entertainer. His writing is just another expression of his unique genius. I can't recommend it highly enough.