You're a Brave Man, Julius Zimmerman

Book excerpt: The sequel to Losers, Inc. Twelve-year-old Julius Zimmerman is the former vice president of the defunct organization Losers, Inc. Ethan Winfield, the former president, no longer feels like a loser. But Julius still does, maybe because his mother thinks of him that way. To "improve" him, Mrs. Zimmerman signs Julius up for a summer course in intensive French and for a part-time job baby-sitting three-year-old Edison Blue. She also sets a summer reading goal for him. Julius doesn't ace the French class and doesn't do the required reading, but he does turn out to have a winning way with kids -- and adults -- and in the end proves to his mother that her criteria for success aren't the only ones.