School!: Adventures at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School
By Kate McMullan; Inspired and Illustrated by George Booth
Feiwel & Friends, 2010
Pages: 160
Suggested Ages: 8-11
ISBN-13: 0312375921
Laugh-out-loud funny, from the endpapers to the final page, this illustrated novel tells about a week of what would be very ordinary happenings – except that this particular hotsy-totsy, tippy-toppy, super-duper,hunky-dory, yowie-ka-zowie week is at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School – where everyone and everything is just a little different and a lot hilarious.
It’s not about the plot – although you do care what happens next. It’s not about the characters, though you get to know them pretty well. It’s all about the way the story is told – with not one single opportunity to make a good pun missed. Take the names of the kids for example: Ron Faster (who runs very fast, indeed); Sid Down (who would rather not be seated); Adam Up (who is a math whiz); and Chuckie Upkins (poor boy – whatever he eats upsets his tummy). And the teachers: Ms. Doremi Fasollatido (music); Hugh da Mann (kindergarten); Arthur Mometer (school nurse).
Get it? Every kid you know sure will!
THEMES: HUMOR. PUNS AND PUNNING. SCHOOLS & SCHOOL STORIES. TEACHERS. WORDS AND WORD PLAY GAMES.
LW.
Laugh-out-loud funny, from the endpapers to the final page, this illustrated novel tells about a week of what would be very ordinary happenings – except that this particular hotsy-totsy, tippy-toppy, super-duper,hunky-dory, yowie-ka-zowie week is at the Harvey N. Trouble Elementary School – where everyone and everything is just a little different and a lot hilarious.
It’s not about the plot – although you do care what happens next. It’s not about the characters, though you get to know them pretty well. It’s all about the way the story is told – with not one single opportunity to make a good pun missed. Take the names of the kids for example: Ron Faster (who runs very fast, indeed); Sid Down (who would rather not be seated); Adam Up (who is a math whiz); and Chuckie Upkins (poor boy – whatever he eats upsets his tummy). And the teachers: Ms. Doremi Fasollatido (music); Hugh da Mann (kindergarten); Arthur Mometer (school nurse).
Get it? Every kid you know sure will!
Teaching Tip: It’s almost impossible to read this book to yourself – it begs to be read out loud. Share it with your students in little bits and pieces. Assign them roles (there are plenty of characters) and have them read their parts along with you. Have fun.
THEMES: HUMOR. PUNS AND PUNNING. SCHOOLS & SCHOOL STORIES. TEACHERS. WORDS AND WORD PLAY GAMES.
LW.
- School! almost reels in a tornado of silly wordplay and fast-paced events, with students like Dewey Haveto and little Izzy Normal in a chorus of confusion. Booth’s comical portraits look like cameos of his beloved New Yorker cartoons—the janitors Iquit and Quitoo, tossing their brooms aside, could have just stepped off one of those crowded country porches
- New York Times Book Review
