Axle Annie

Oh, wow, what a hilarious book! I was interested by the fact that Tom Arnold was the illustrator. Now I recognize Robin Pulver as a wonderful storyteller who makes the simple matter of a bus getting to school through the snow a melodramatic adventure like no other! Axle Annie is a great heroine who drives her school bus no matter what. She also has her devious foils to play the villain. I could almost see this bus driver as a superhero braving the impossibly steep Tiger Hill. My students laughed and laughed during this book, and I was entertained by the complex storyline. Great for any wintry school day.

This book is titled Axle Annie. Ted Arnold wrote this book. The genre of this book is fiction. The main characters are Axle Annie, Shifty Rhodes, and Hail Snow. In the town of Burskyville, Axle Annie is a bus driver and every snow storm Axle Annie was asked if she could get over Tiger Hill, the biggest hill in Burskyville. The answer was always the same,"Of course I can!" that's why Burskyville never ever has had a snow day. Shifty Rhodes was very mad. He hated Axle Annie. Shifty was also a bus driver. Shifty always complained about his job. The next day, Axle Annie, once again, got up Tiger Hill. That morning Shifty Rhodes got so mad because Burskyville was the only school out of all the towns in the five-county area that had school. Shifty blamed it all on Axle Annie. Shifty was in a terrible mood that morning on his bus. Shifty met a new man named Hail Snow. Hail had a snow making machine he didn't want. Shifty told him all about Axle Annie. Then they made a plan to make more snow and put it on Tiger Hill. Hail and Shifty were happy for themselves. Then they put the snow on Tiger Hill. Then Shifty smashed into the machine. When Axle Annie got to the hill it was bad. Axle Annie tried to go up and she got stuck. People helped her. Then she saw Hail and Shifty covered in snow and found out thier plan. Then she let them on the bus. Shifty quit his job, moved out of town, and got a job on a cruise ship. Hail named a ski slope after Annie. the kids asked her if they would get down. The answer was always the same, "of course we will." The kids USUALLY got down the slope. I think this is a good children's and adult's book because it is funny. I would recommend it to anyone who likes humurous fiction.

At a recent teacher's conference, I learned how to connect the Axle Annie story with a hands-on science experiment to actually make it snow in front of the kids. After reading the story, I suggested to the class that we make a snow machine. The secret is this stuff called Insta-Snow from Steve Spangler Science. When you add water to the powder, it erupts into snow. Well, it's fake snow, but the eruption from the "snow machine" is so cool that the kids go wild. It's like the story of Axle Annie came to life. Thanks to Robin Pulver and Tedd Arnold for a great book and to Steve Spangler for building a great science and literature connection.

"Axle Annie" was an overwhelming read-aloud hit with a class of second graders in my elementary school library. Tedd Arnold's comical illustrations are the perfect complement to Robin Pulver's tall tale about a dedicated school bus driver who can always make it up Tiger Hill, no matter how snowy it may get.When the superintendent asks her on blizzard mornings if she can make it up Tiger Hill, Axle Annie always replies, "Do snowplows plow? Do tow trucks tow? Are school buses yellow? Of course I can make it up Tiger Hill!" This is how he always determines that Burskeyville Schools will stay open in stormy weather.Another bus driver, Shifty Rhodes, who hates to drive in blizzard conditions, teams up with disgruntled ski resort operator, Hale Snow, who never has extra business because local schools never close for snow days. Together they come up with a plan to prevent Axle Annie from making it up Tiger Hill.In our elementary school, where a majority of the students ride the school bus, and where we sometimes DO close for snow days, the kids could relate to the exaggerated personalities of the drivers, as well as the snowy conditions that every child--and some teachers--hope will shut down school once in a while. Around here, many kids probably would probably go skiing, sledding or snowboarding.The repetitive line, quoted above, quickly becomes a chorus with children listening to this hilarious story. This is a fun book, and would be perfect for children in late Fall or early Winter, as the days get colder and the clouds get grayer! Recommended.

My 5 year old loves this book! We enjoy watching Annie trying to get the children to school. The illustrations are hilarious and it's a lively fun story. We love anything by Tedd Arnold!