Posted on by TracyC

Our Teacher Is Missing

TeacherMissingOur Teacher Is Missing by Mary Frances Shura, 1992.

Eliza is a quiet girl, and she likes to be that way.  Too many of her teachers try to make her be more “outgoing” or “lively.”  Mostly, Eliza wishes that they would just leave her alone.  That’s why she likes her new teacher, Miss Dixon.  Miss Dixon is quiet and soft-spoken, like Eliza.  Ben, the class bully, calls Miss Dixon “Mouse,” but in spite of that, Miss Dixon has no trouble controlling her class.

Then, one day, Miss Dixon doesn’t show up to class.  The kids wait around for her, goofing off, but Eliza is really worried.  She knows that it’s not like Miss Dixon to simply not show up.  Soon, other kids also start becoming concerned, and other faculty members realize that Miss Dixon is missing.  The principal arranges for a substitute teacher while they are looking for Miss Dixon, and the children continue wondering what could have happened to her. The students consider every possibility behind their teacher’s disappearance, from secret mafia connections and entry into the Witness Protection Program to alien abduction.

But, for Eliza, all these wild speculations, stupid jokes about their “Mouse” teacher being eaten by a cat, and the adults’ constant reassurances that they’re sure that there is a reasonable explanation and that no one should be “unduly concerned” are just not enough.  Whatever happened to Miss Dixon, Eliza is sure that she would have come to school or at least called if she could.  Eliza thinks that something terrible must have happened and that Miss Dixon needs help fast.  If the adults won’t do anything about Miss Dixon’s disappearance, then she will!

This book is currently available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction and Spoilers:

I love this book because I identified with the main character from the time I first read it as a child. One of the themes of this book is about people’s perceptions of different personality types. Eliza’s teachers and even her parents underestimate her because of her quiet nature.  Eliza is an introvert, and she is under constant pressure from most adults to be more of an extrovert.  Eliza resents their attempts to reshape her into a more outgoing, forceful person, not recognizing that her real strengths are her intelligence, perceptiveness, and quiet determination to do the right thing.  Being a loud person isn’t the same as being a competent person, although some people have that perception.  However, the people around her come to understand her better in the end.  Eliza also finds some unexpected sympathy from friends who understand her impatience with the shallow immaturity of other kids and who also are content to not be completely understood by other people as long as they have the freedom to quietly be themselves.

Eliza succeeds in this mystery where the adults fail because she is perceptive and has insights into her teacher’s personality that other lack.  Although Eliza’s friends Robin, Stephen, and Chris are worried about getting into trouble by playing detective, when they see how determined Eliza is, they agree to help.  Soon, they realize that Eliza is right to be worried.  Miss Dixon intended to be home over the weekend, but something happened to keep her from coming home.  The more the children talk about what they really know about their teacher, the more they begin to put the clues together.  Finally, they realize where Miss Dixon was right before she vanished, but the situation is serious.  Miss Dixon is being held captive because she accidentally stumbled upon criminal activity.  When one of their classmates is also in danger, Eliza shows everyone that even a quiet person can have the bravery and determination to do what needs to be done.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School

SidewaysArithmetic

Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School by Louis Sachar, 1989.

This is a companion book to the Wayside School Series.  Unlike the other books in the series, it doesn’t contain stories.  It talks about the things that kids at Wayside School study, partly from the point of view of Sue, a new student who is stunned to learn that kids at Wayside School do arithmetic with words, not numbers.

SidewaysArithmeticPicBasically, it’s a puzzle book.  In the Arithmetic section, the letters in the words stand for numbers.  The book gives an example to demonstrate how to figure out which numbers the letters stand for.  The problems get harder through the sections labeled Numbers, Pronouns, and Paragraphs.

From the Recess section on, there are logic puzzles.  In Recess, you have to use the information provided to figure out what games the children play at recess.  In Science, Geography, Etc. (that’s one chapter), you have to figure out who got the right answers to the tests from the information provided. You see the answers five of them got and know that only one of them got all the answers right and no two of them had the same score. When you look in the back to see if you solved the problem right, you get to see what the test was actually about, and that’s the funniest part.  The Lunch section combines logic puzzles with math.  The True or False section gives you true/false questions to answer based on a series of statements about which of them are true or false.  Finally, in the After School section, Joy and Sue give up and go home (as well they should).

I like the book because I like puzzles, and there are funny little stories around the problems and answers.  All of the puzzles are answerable (except for one or two where the correct answer is that they’re impossible, which is why Joy should definitely get up and go home, but you’ll figure that out way before she does).  If you like puzzles and the Wayside School series, you’d like this book.  If you don’t like puzzles, you can skip this and just stick to the regular books in the series (as regular as Wayside School gets).  If you like puzzles but don’t know about the Wayside School series, you could still find it interesting but you wouldn’t really appreciate the funny parts.  If you don’t like the Wayside School series or puzzles, you probably aren’t reading this right now, so don’t worry about it.

This book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger

WaysideStrangerWayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar, 1995.

Just when you didn’t think it was possible . . .

Having finally managed to remove all of the cows from Wayside School (see the last story in the previous book in the Wayside School Series), Louis declares that Wayside School is ready for the students to return.  Everyone is glad because they were all sent to far more normal schools while Wayside was closed, and they hated it.  Nothing normal ever happens at Wayside, the school that was built sideways (and has a missing floor, where all the really strange stuff happens).

But, things are about to get stranger yet.  The school hires a new school counselor (they probably needed one) named Dr. Pickell (or Dr. Pickle, if you prefer).  He takes the job when he can’t practice psychiatry anymore because of his tendency to play practical jokes on people while they’re under hypnosis.  Can he finally cure Paul of his desire to pull Leslie’s pigtails?

WaysideStrangerPic1Meanwhile, the principal declares that “door” is a very bad word and that everyone should say “goozack” instead.  Mrs. Jewls tells the children to write poems about colors, but some colors rhyme better than others.  Kathy tries to convince everyone that Santa doesn’t exist.  Miss Zarves (who also doesn’t exist), laments about how difficult teaching really is.

Then, the children learn something really surprising: Mrs. Jewls is expecting a baby!  She has to take a break from teaching, and the children have a series of substitutes who are stranger than Mrs. Jewls.  Mr. Gorf turns out to be Mrs. Gorf’s son, and he wants revenge.  Mrs. Drazil turns out to be Louis’s old teacher, the one he was always afraid of, and she wants revenge.  Mrs. Nogard is an unhappy person who wants to make other people unhappy . . . until she realizes that isn’t what she really wants.  Wayside School may be strange, but it does have happy endings!

By the way, anyone notice what the substitutes’ names spell backward?

This book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Never Hit a Ghost with a Baseball Bat

GhostBaseballBatNever Hit a Ghost with a Baseball Bat by Eth Clifford, 1993.

Mary Rose and Jo-Beth are visiting another museum with their father, but they’re not happy about it.  Mary Rose is annoyed because there’s a boy she likes, and no matter what she does, he just won’t pay attention to her.  Jo-Beth is annoyed because she just turned eight years old, and well, . . . she just turned eight.  Nothing special happened on her birthday.  She doesn’t look different, she doesn’t feel different, and she just had to go to school like normal.  Their father, Harry, hopes that a visit to a strange museum dedicated to antique trolleys will help snap them out of their funks, although neither girl thinks so at first.

But, it seems like the trolley museum might be inhabited by a ghost.  The owner, Sam Thorne, doesn’t think so, but his assistant, Hoot Turner, can’t think of any other explanation.  Strange things are happening.  Food and other objects disappear.  Things are moved around.  Areas are . . . unexpectedly tidy?  What gives?  If it’s a ghost, it’s apparently a ghost that believes in cleanliness and doesn’t mind doing the dishes.  But, if the ghost is so friendly and useful, why do mysterious voices call out to them to beware?

GhostBaseballBatPicThe girls explore the trolleys parked in the museum and admire the manikins dressed in old-fashioned clothing that are part of the displays in each trolley car, but more strange things happen.  A teddy bear seems to speak to them, even though it isn’t the kind with a string and a talk-box.  The manikins start to seem creepier.  Mary-Rose and Jo-Beth are only armed with a baseball bat from one of the displays and the old teddy bear (which terrifies Jo-Beth).  But, Mary Rose is determined to find the ghost, even if it’s the last thing she does!

Telling you about one of the themes of this story would spoil the ending, but both the girls come to realize that there are people in the world with much more serious problems than the ones that they were worried about at the beginning of the story.  There is a happy ending for everyone as Mary Rose turns her mind to something more interesting than a boy who takes no notice of her and Jo-Beth appreciates her birthday more by throwing a special party for someone else.

This is part of the Mary Rose and Jo-Beth Mysteries series. It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

The Dragon Charmer

DragonCharmerThe Dragon Charmer by Douglas Hill, 1997.

This is a great fantasy story about a girl who learns to face her fears and persevere in spite of them. It has a good moral and is encouraging to anyone who failed at something but wanted to try again.

Elynne Danneby is afraid of dragons, which is a shame because her family makes its living by dragon charming. Every year, the dragons stop by her family’s farm on their migratory path, and Elynne’s father puts on a show for people who come to see the dragons. By playing a special tune on his pipes, Dan Danneby can put the dragons into a trance and safely walk among them. Only certain people have the ability to charm dragons. Elynne possesses that talent, but she has been unable to use it since she made a mistake while trying to charm dragons when she was a small child. They tried to attack her, and her father had to save her from them. Ever since, the dragons have terrified Elynne, but she is still fascinated by them and desperately wants to conquer her fear in order to charm them like her father does.

DragonCharmerPicThen, one day, a rare crimson dragon comes to the farm and lays an egg. It is extremely uncommon to see a dragon’s nest or a baby dragon, and Dan is excited about trying to charm the baby after the egg hatches. However, Dan’s assistant is greedy and decides to steal the egg and sell it. Elynne overheard him talk about his plans before the egg was stolen, but because she wasn’t sure of what she heard, she didn’t tell anyone. Elynne feels guilty about not preventing the theft of the egg, and in spite of her fear, she is determined to get it back. In the process, she not only conquers her fear but learns about a talent that she never realized she had.

The book is full of black-and-white drawings in a sort of cross-hatch style.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC · 2 Comments

The Secret of Roan Inish

The Secret of Roan Inish (aka The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry) by Rosalie K. Fry, 1957, 1959 (first US edition), 1995 (movie tie-in).

This is the book that the movie The Secret of Roan Inish is based on. The movie tie-in book contains the text of the original book, which was called Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry (Child of the Western Isles), and pictures from the movie (the original book had black-and-white drawings). The movie follows the plot of the original book fairly well, although the location was changed to Ireland and some of the names were altered to reflect the change in location. For example, the family name in the book was McConville, not Coneelly, and Fiona’s cousin was Rory in the book and Eamon in the movie. My book, like the original, takes place in Scotland, and notations under the pictures call the characters by their original names.

Ten-year-old Fiona has been living in a big city ever since her family left the island of Ron Mor about four years earlier to seek new jobs and new opportunities. However, Fiona’s health has been poor, and her doctor has advised her to return to the seaside for the healthier atmosphere. The book begins with her journey to stay with her grandparents who still live close to Ron Mor. Fiona’s homecoming is tinged with both sadness and hope, as she reflects on the mysterious disappearance of her baby brother the day that her family left the island.

Although her brother apparently floated out to sea in his cradle after being left unattended on the beach, Fiona has the feeling that he is still alive somewhere close to the island. She learns that her cousin Rory also believes the local rumors that the boy is still on Ron Mor in the company of the seals that populate the area around the island. Moreover, Rory and other family members share Fiona’s longing to return to their old home and their family’s traditional way of life as fishermen. Fiona’s determination to find her younger brother and bring him and the rest of their family home to the island is touching and emphasizes the importance of family ties.

There is also an element of fantasy because of the story that Fiona’s grandfather tells about the family’s heritage, which helps explain their special connection to the sea and seals around the island. He and other members of the family believe that one of their ancestors was a selkie, a magical person who could change into a seal.  The story is gentle and upbeat, which makes a nice change from a lot of modern children’s books.  I think that it’s just plain magic.

Something that the book clarifies, which is more vague in the movie, is that everyone in Fiona’s family, except for her little brother, has red hair.  All of the McConvilles always have red hair, except for those who are apparently closer to their Selkie ancestry, who have very dark hair.  They couldn’t clarify that point in the movie because the girl playing Fiona is blonde, and everyone else has different hair colors, but that’s why her brother is so markedly different in his appearance.

Physical copies of the original book are expensive collectors’ items, but there is good news: it’s now available on Kindle and through Internet Archive (where you can borrow an electronic copy for free), so if you’re nostalgic or just curious, it’s easier to read it now!

Posted on by TracyC

The Case of the Haunted Health Club

HauntedHealthClubThe Case of the Haunted Health Club by Carol Farley, 1991.

This is the third and last book in the Flee Jay and Clarice Mysteries.

The story begins with Flee Jay talking about how she fell in love with mystery stories when she was younger after she found a mystery for adults that had accidentally been shelved in the children’s section of the library.  Although the book was about a murder where the body was hidden inside a snow man and was really too scary for a girl her age, she was captivated by it, wondering what was going to happen next.  It was a shame that the librarian caught her reading it, so she never got to find out how it ended.  But, it does inspire her to find part of the solution to this mystery, a part that stumps even Clarice.

The mystery that confronts Flee Jay and Clarice this time concerns a fortune teller and her nephew.  The fortune teller used to live in their town, and the girls’ parents even went to her to have their fortunes told when they were teenagers.  Now, she’s returned along with her nephew in order to revive the health club that her late husband owned when they were living in this town.  When the girls go by the health club to take a look at it, they find the fortune teller unconscious on the floor.  She says that there must have been something in the tea she was drinking and that “the spirits” have been trying to convince her not to get involved with the health club.

HauntedHealthClubPicFlee Jay thinks this is spooky, but Clarice doesn’t believe in spirits.  In order to investigate further, the two girls accept part time jobs helping the fortune teller and her nephew to clean up the building so they can move in new exercise equipment.  “The spirits” continue sending warnings in the form of red dye in the Jacuzzi and threatening messages.  Clever Clarice uses logic to point out how most of these things were accomplished but is surprised when Flee Jay reveals something that she overlooked.

Although I like the first two books in the series better, the ending of this one makes it worth reading.  Clarice may be the genius who usually reveals the solution to the mystery, but Flee Jay is a girl detective after all!

This book is currently available online through Internet Archive.