Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

The Haunting of Grade Three

HauntingG3The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone, 1984.

Elwood Elementary has become overcrowded, so the third-graders have been moved to an old mansion, Blackwell House, which has been empty for years. The house looks kind of spooky, and there are a lot of local ghost stories about it. Fortunately, Adam Johnson likes scary stories, so he thinks that it’s wonderful to go to school there.

Soon after the students move into the house, strange things begin happening. Objects fall off desks and shelves, and door slam for no reason.  Some of the kids discover a grave marker on the property for a boy about their age who died during the Civil War.  The kids start getting nervous, and so does their teacher, Mr. Jenkins. Then, Mr. Jenkins decides to give the kids group assignments. Each committee gets to go to a different place in town and learn about it. Adam’s committee is assigned to study Blackwell House and decide if it’s really haunted. The kids think their assignment is pretty strange, but Adam is excited.  He wants to be a ghost hunter like on Ghostbusters!

HauntingGradeThreeMost 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.

In the end, there is a reasonable explanation for the haunting of Blackwell House.  The kids take a methodical approach to the mystery, gathering their facts and ruling out various possibilities along the way.  Joey gets a chance to be a real hero, Danny proves to himself and everyone else that he’s smart and has good ideas, and Adam gets a new life ambition.

HauntingG3Pic

One other thing that I thought was interesting is that Adam, the main character in the story, is African American, but it’s never mentioned in the text of the story.  You only know because it’s shown in the pictures.  It’s just a little detail and not important to the story, but I thought it was interesting in a story that encourages kids to notice details.  I also liked it that Adam isn’t defined by race or appearance as so many characters in kids’ books are.  He stands by himself as an interesting character with his own ideas, courage, and leadership abilities.

This is the first book in the Third Grade Ghosthunters series.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC · 1 Comment

The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom

jeremybloomThe D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom by Gordon Korman and Bernice Korman, 1992.

This book is mostly a collection of funny poems, but there is an overarching story to them.  Jeremy Bloom, a typical middle school slacker, wanted to sign up for the easiest elective course he possibly could.  But, by accident, he overslept on the first day of school, and by the time he got there, sign-ups had already started and the easiest and most popular electives were full.  Desperately trying to find something easy and with as little work possible under the remaining electives, Jeremy decided to sign up for Pottery. (“It was no Snooze Patrol, but how hard could it be to make ashtrays?”)  Only, he made another mistake and accidentally signed up for Poetry, and once he was enrolled, there was no way out of it.  He was committed to spending a year writing poetry.

jeremybloompoemJeremy 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.)

My favorite poems are the longer ones like “Why I Was Late,” “The Wheeler-Dealer,” and “No Boring Parts Allowed.”  Just to give you an idea of what the poems are like (although they are written in a variety of styles), here’s another one of my favorites, “Honesty Is Not Always the Best Policy.”

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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 · 1 Comment

Wayside School is Falling Down

WaysideFallingWayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar, 1989.

The books in the Wayside School Series are collections of short, funny stories about a school that was accidentally built sideways.  Instead of being a one-story school with thirty classrooms all in a row, Wayside School is a thirty-story school with only one classroom on each floor.  Strange things are always happening there. The stories mostly focus on the kids in Mrs. Jewls’s class on the top floor of the school.  Like the first book in the series, there are 30 short stories in this book.

It would take too long to describe all the stories in the book individually, but they’re just as funny as in the first one.  Mrs. Jewls has a new student, Mark Miller, except that Mark Miller is really Benjamin Nushmutt.  Benjamin would correct Mrs. Jewls except that he seems to be a much better and more popular student as Mark Miller.  But, as he soon learns, answering to a name that isn’t yours is about the least strange thing at his new school.

WaysidePic1Socks figure into many of the stories, with a special jingle invented by Mac, who used to be named Nancy until he traded names with a girl.  It’s fortunate that Mac invented the jingle because Allison uses it to free herself from the non-existent 19th story.  Myron chooses freedom over safety, emancipating himself from the school’s rules.  Bebe invents a younger brother, and things turn around for Leslie when her pigtails pull Paul.  Rondi fears that she’s no longer cute now that her front teeth have grown in.  Joy learns the best thing about the toy dog that Todd brought to school, and Ron actually tries the school lunch.

There are plenty of lessons to learn.  Watch as Mrs. Jewls teaches her class about gravity using her brand new computer!  Dana thinks that she hates stories until she learns that she actually loves them.  Mrs. Jewls teaches Jason not to chew pencils using masking tape.  Dameon learns about love via a dead rat.  Stephen explains how uncomfortable clothes and strangling ties make people look important, and Mrs. Jewls says that it’s what’s underneath that counts, so it’s best to wear expensive undies.  Then, everyone learns to tango in dance class (except Myron).

But, one windy day, the children are faced with an alarming possibility: Can their overly-tall school actually fall down?  (Lyrics courtesy of Kathy, who still hates everyone.)

This book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Wayside

Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar, 1978.

The books in the Wayside School Series are collections of short, funny stories about a school that was accidentally built sideways.  Instead of being a one-story school with thirty classrooms all in a row, Wayside School is a thirty-story school with only one classroom on each floor (the compensation is the extra-large playground).  Also, they accidentally left off the 19th story.  Strange things happen at the school.  Even stranger ones happen on the non-existent 19th story.  But, the stories mostly focus on the kids on the top floor of the school.

WaysideStoriesPic1Each of the books contains thirty stories, like the school (ha, ha!).  It would take awhile to describe them all, but there are stories about each of the kids in Mrs. Jewls’s class.  Mrs. Jewls took over the class on the 30th floor after Mrs. Gorf accidentally turned herself into an apple.  She used to turn her students into apples when they made her mad, but most forms of revenge backfire eventually.  Mrs. Gorf ends up turning herself into an apple when one of her students holds up a mirror, and then, Louis the yard teacher eats her.

Mrs. Jewls is a much better teacher.  She helps Joe learn to count.  Joe can usually only get the right answer when he counts numbers in the wrong order.  She helps John learn to read right-side up instead of upside down.  She teaches Bebe that when it comes to art, quantity doesn’t equal quality (although Bebe did have a pretty good system going there for awhile) and cures Dana’s mosquito bites with the power of arithmetic.  Mrs. Jewls even invents new flavors of ice cream when Maurecia gets tired of every flavor in existence.

The students in Mrs. Jewl’s class are pretty amazing, too.  Todd saves the day when confused bank robbers burst into the class.  Sharie shows her intelligence by sleeping in class, D.J. smiles constantly, and Kathy hates everyone and everything.  Rondi is cute for the things she doesn’t have (like her two missing teeth) and the stuff she doesn’t do (everyone laughs when she doesn’t tell a joke), but what can she do about it?  Paul just wants to pull Leslie’s pigtails, and Leslie thinks maybe she should sell her toes because she can’t find a use for them.

WaysideStoriesPic2Mrs. Gorf does make one more reappearance on the Friday before Halloween.  Mrs. Jewls and the children argue that she can’t haunt the school if it’s not Halloween, but when Halloween falls on a weekend, schools have to have their Halloween party on the Friday before.  Stephen’s just happy that the ghost of Mrs. Gorf justifies his costume.

As Louis the yard teacher says, “It has been said that these stories are strange and silly.  That is probably true. However, when I told stories about you to the children at Wayside, they thought you were strange and silly. That is also probably true.”  Fair is fair.

This book is available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

Twenty and Ten

TwentyTenTwenty and Ten by Claire Bishop, 1952.

The story takes place in occupied France during World War II.  Children were often sent to the countryside to escape the violence of war, and a group of twenty children, both boys and girls, are staying at a small school taught by a nun, Sister Gabriel.  Most of them are about eleven years old, although four-year-old Louis is allowed stay at the school with his older sister, Denise.

Janet, another student at the school, tells how a strange man comes to the school and begs them to help him hide ten Jewish orphans from the Nazis.  Sharing their school with these newcomers means that they will have to share their already meager rations with them and to keep their presence at the school absolutely secret.  In spite of the danger and difficulty, everyone at the school agrees to help.  They think of it as being like when Mary and Joseph had to take baby Jesus to Egypt to hide him from King Herod, a story they had recently acted out in play form.

TwentyTenPic1The two groups of children soon make friends, and one of the Jewish children, Arthur, shares something special with his new friend, Henry: a small piece of chocolate.  With the rationing, none of them have seen chocolate in a long time.  Henry decides to share a little with Janet because he likes her, and they decide to hide the rest and save it for later.  When Denise spies them with the chocolate and wants to have a little herself, she steals the piece of chocolate from where Henry has hidden it. The others chase after her to get the chocolate back, and they end up accidentally discovering a cave that none of them knew was there.

This becomes a vital discovery when the children spot a pair of Nazis heading toward their school.  Sister Gabriel is away, so the children have to take care of the situation themselves.  Quickly, Arthur leads the other Jewish children to the cave, where they can hide.  The other children remain at the school and try to keep the Nazis from learning anything.  They try not to even talk to the Nazis when they start asking questions.  But, how long can they keep it up?  Something has obviously happened to Sister Gabriel, and the Jewish children can’t hide in the cave forever.

There is a movie version of this book called Miracle at Moreaux.  The movie differs significantly from the book.  In the book, the children at the school are all welcoming to the Jewish children, but in the movie, some of the children at the school are afraid of the Jewish children (there are only three of them in the movie), one of them in particular hating Jewish people because she believes anti-Semitic stories she’s heard.  Also, instead of the cave that appears in the book, the movie uses a Christmas pageant as the device for confusing the Nazis and allowing the Jewish children to escape to Spain (instead of staying at the school until the end of the war, as they did in the book).

This book is available online through Internet Archive.