The Tap Dance Mystery by Susan Pearson, 1990.
The kids in Ernie’s class are assigned to groups to plan different acts for the show that they will have when their parents visit the school on Parents’ Night. The Martians are assigned to different groups. R. T.’s group is going to do magic tricks. Michael’s group is going to pretend to be a music group from Jupiter and play different homemade instruments. Unfortunately, William and Ernie are in the same group as Marcie, a mean and bossy girl who always smells sticky and sweet, like Juicy Fruit gum.
Marcie convinces the others that their group should tap dance because she has been taking lessons and can teach the others. William and Ernie struggle to learn the steps and make homemade tap shoes by tacking washers onto the bottoms of their shoes. Jason, the fourth member of their group, really likes dancing and shows a lot of talent for learning the moves. Still, only Marcie really looks the part of a dancer in her fancy costume and beautiful tap shoes.
Several kids ask Marcie if they can try on her tap shoes, including Jason, but she refuses to let them. Every day, she hides her shoes in a different place in their classroom when she isn’t there to watch them. When the shoes disappear, Marcie is convinced that Jason took them, but he says he didn’t. Ernie believes him, but she has to hurry if she is going to find the shoes and clear his name before Parents’ Night.
The solution to this mystery is fairly simple, but the story also has some interesting insights into the reasons why Marcie acts the way she does and the effect that parents’ expectations can have on their children.
This is part of the Eagle-Eye Ernie series. The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.
Eagle-Eye Ernie Comes to Town by Susan Pearson, 1990.
The 123 Zoo Mystery by Susan Pearson, 1991.
The Ghost on the Hill by Grace Maccarone, 1990.
When they reach the state park, Dennis Ten Foot Bridge, who is the last of his tribe, tells the students about his tribe, teaches them wilderness skills, and leads them in group activities. One evening, Joey goes out to practice some rowing on the lake by himself, and he sees what looks like a large ghost at the top of a hill However, everyone knows that Joey lies about a lot of things, so at first, no one believes him. At least, no one except Adam.
The Return of the Third-Grade Ghosthunters by Grace Maccarone, 1989.
They try to use scientific methods to study the haunting. They measure the placement of the furniture to see if anything moves while they’re out and sprinkle flour on the floor to get footprints. But, even though they watch carefully and don’t see anyone enter the bunk house, when they go inside, everything is a mess, and the flour doesn’t appear disturbed. Everyone else is about ready to admit that this one is a real ghost, but Adam has another theory.
The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone, 1984.
Most of the group members are misfits in one way or another. Norma Hamburger is a shy girl, frequently teased about her last name. Debbie Clark is a talkative girl who’s really into science. Chuck Webber, Adam’s best friend, is the class clown, always telling stupid jokes (and one of the main people who teases Norma about her name). Danny Biddicker is strong and good at sports, but he worries that he’s not as smart as the others. Joey Baker feels overshadowed by his large family, so he tells tall tales to get attention. The other kids don’t understand and get annoyed with his lies. By working together, they not only learn the secret of Blackwell House, but they learn more about each other and become a real team and friends.
The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom by Gordon Korman and Bernice Korman, 1992.
Jeremy tries to make the best of things, but somehow (partly through his own fault and partly by accident), he continually manages to do things to annoy his poetry teacher, Ms. Terranova (or, as the kids call her, Ms. Pterodactyl, thanks to a mistake Jeremy made when he said her name on the first day of class). Every single poem Jeremy writes during the year receives the same grade: D-. The book is divided into different periods of Jeremy’s work, along with an explanation about what Jeremy did during each period to tick off his teacher. At the end, the reader can be the judge: Are Jeremy’s D- grades because he’s a terrible poet or because his teacher is mad at Jeremy for everything else he does during the year? (The answer is pretty obvious.)
Our Teacher Is Missing by Mary Frances Shura, 1992.
Basically, 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.
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar, 1995.
Meanwhile, 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.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 