Crusty Bones. Iceman. Deer in Headlights. Almost everyone in Old Orchard Public School (OOPS) has a nickname, courtesy of Jeff and Wiley. The witty boys from 6B, the class generally known as the Dim Bulbs, spend much energy creating stock identities for the people in their lives.

When a massive high school football coach replaces their teacher, Jeff and Wiley waste no time dubbing him “Mr. Huge.” Although the substitute works himself into a lather encouraging the “team” to give “a hundred-and-ten percent,” practice scores on the State Reading Assessment are anything but lofty. Mr. Hughes will be fired unless the Dim Bulbs light up quickly. Cassandra, a new girl in town too original to conform to any nickname, contributes a creative solution.

This novel is signature Korman. Although the backdrop has changed from a private school in Ontario to a public school in Pennsylvania, the characters are versions of Macdonald Hall types met before. Bruno and Boots live again in Jeff and Wiley, Cassandra recalls the spunky young ladies from Miss Scrimmage’s, and the OOPS scene is populated with adults who are narrowminded, eccentric, or a delightful mixture of both. Korman has not lost his gift for satire.

A new generation, raised on playground nicknames not half so good-humoured, can enter Korman’s world through this book. The engaging cover, portraits of key figures from the OOPS gang, provides a fitting introduction.