Cuss - Kristine L. Franklin

Cuss

By: Kristine L. Franklin

Paperback | 1 November 2007

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"A fine historical novel with lively dialogue and plenty of excitement." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)
It's 1925 in multi-ethnic Roslyn, Washington, where twelve-year-old "Cuss" is able to swear in fourteen languages. Unlike his brothers, who left school to work in the coal mines, Cuss likes reading as much as goofing with friends. But when bootleggers force his brothers to skip town, he is forced to choose between his personal dreams and his family responsibilities.
A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices List Selection
Five state awards or nominations
A Jefferson Cup Award Winner
Industry Reviews
Back in second grade I took on a bully named Snakey who'd called my pa a word in Estonian that I wouldn't repeat in English. Pa'd died from the influenza only a few years before that, and I didn't take too kindly to anyone's smearing his name, not in any language. Maybe Snakey thought all I knew was Croatian. I showed him, even though I was just a squirt. First I called him a big porsas, meaning "pig," which I'd picked up from one of my brother's Estonian pals, and then--socko!--one punch and Snakey was down with a busted nose. After that I started paying close attention to the other ethnics. I listened to what they said, especially when they were drunk and hollering at each other. I collected their cuss words and insults. Pretty soon they figured out what I was up to and went along with my game. I only had to hear a word once to remember it. They taught me that joodik meant "drunkard" in Estonian, and traskpadda meant "swamp frog" in Swede, and that pupa-ma-n meant "kiss my butt" in Romanian. I told them if I knew enough cuss words in other languages, no kid would ever be able to pull a fast one in Old Country talk. They thought I was a hoot. And they gave me a nickname that stuck: Cuss. By the end of second grade I could say "You look like a horse's hinder" in Croatian, Turk, Slovenian, Italian, Estonian, Albanian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Swede, Finn, Polack, Czech, and even Arab, which I got from Perks, whose Granny knew a Gypsy who shacked up with a guy from Arabia. I knew a lot of other cuss words, too. Guess you could say I had the knack.

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