Tatulli, Mark.
SHORT AND SKINNY
Boston : Little, Brown, 2018
IL 3-6
ISBN 9780316440493

“Big things come in small packages.” Mark’s mom says that a lot. Mostly to Mark. It’s 1977, and Mark Tatulli is the smallest kid in Junior High. Even his little sister is taller than him. This unfortunate situation means that Mark is a favorite target to the school’s three biggest bullies, but he also has to put up with teasing from his own friends and family. Fed up, Mark decides this is the summer that’s going to change. Using the ads in the back of his comic books, he sends away for every “guaranteed” muscle builder and height enhancement he sees. As he waits for the miracle cures, he spends his summer riding his beloved bike, Thunderbolt, and drawing. Then Star Wars hits theaters. Mark is blown away, and realizes this is what he really wants- to tell mind-blowing stories that leave people cheering. He decides his real summer calling will be making a spoof of Star Wars, called “Star Bores,” and recruits his friends and siblings to fill roles like Obi-Dope Canteloupe, Princess Bleeia, and Barf Vapor. Mark will play the hero Fluke Skystumbler. Obsessed with his movie, Mark spends the rest of the summer making costumes and building sets, and creating some very unsafe special effects when his mom’s not home. At last, filming is done, and Mark’s psyched. But then, he realizes he can’t afford film editing equipment, none of his mail order cures work, his Ham Yoyo starts talking to Mark’s crush, and, worst of all, his beloved Thunderbolt gets stolen. Is Mark’s summer going to go down in flames? Or can the short guy really go up against incredible odds and come out on top?(New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award nominee, 2020)