Miss Smith Reads Again!

That's right! Miss Smith is back, reading even more amazing stories to her class, and once again proving that reading really is magic. MISS SMITH READS AGAIN, by Michael Garland, is the outstanding sequel to MISS SMITH'S INCREDIBLE STORY BOOK. Miss Smith is one of a kind. 2nd grade is no longer humdrum, and Zack and his friends look forward to each exciting new day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all children could experience a dynamic teacher like Miss Smith? In MISS SMITH READS AGAIN, Miss Smith reads The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to her class, and suddenly...poof!... they are there, in the Lost World. Everyone is having a marvelous adventure...until the T-Rex appears. The class runs for cover. But what has happened to Miss Smith? She is missing, and without her and her incredible book, they can't get home! MISS SMITH READS AGAIN is as delightful as its predecessor. My three and ½ year old received this as a Christmas present, and she is very taken with it. She loves pointing out all of the different dinosaurs and telling me their names. (All children seem to innately know all the varieties of dinosaurs! It is really amazing.) The story uses direct, simple words, and is very straightforward and easy to follow. The bold, colorful drawings are rich in detail, and, apparently, are computer generated. My young one certainly loves listening to the wild adventures of Miss Smith. MISS SMITH READS AGAIN is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for preschoolers through about 3rd/4th grade. The pre-readers will love listening to this exciting adventure, and studying the vibrant, engaging illustrations. The young readers will be thrilled to read it for themselves. I hope that Mr. Garland plans more books for this series; we will be first in line when he does.

Miss Smith is the coolest teacher. She has bright red hair styled punk, and wears red-framed glasses, red Wilson basketball shoes, black leggings and jacket with a short dress. But her appearance is not all that is cool about her. Hi, I'm Zack and I'm the kid who changes the story in this story. Miss Smith is my second grade teacher and she's way cool. She's new this year. She brought with her a book called, "The Incredible Storybook." And boy is it incredible!!! When she reads from it, all the characters and scenery pop out and come to life. So cool! Well, this time she reads Arthur Conan Doyle's story, "Lost World." It's about dinosaurs in South America. Before she begins, she warns us not to yell or do anything to change the story. So on to the story. We spy a line of explorers. Two men stop to have a discussion in the middle of the jungle when a Tyrannosaurus rex appears there behind the two men. I yell a warning to them, we all scatter, then Miss Smith disappears. We find Miss Smith, of course--this IS a children's book--actually, we rescue her, and finally get back to school, but not without "changing the story." Will there be consequences as Miss Smith often suggests? ***** Normally, I (a librarian) love this kind of children's book--bold, colorful, wildly imaginative, quirky, creative, and even informative. So what's wrong? There is a sense of things not finished at the end. There obviously has to be a sequel, so why not state: "To be continued." The artwork is a combination of computer-generated images of the jungle and a wonderful aggregate of multi-ethnic children, plus cool Miss Smith. In other words, the illustrations are fabulous but quirky. Just look at the children's faces to see what I mean. As for the ending, I deducted one star. If the author/illustrator wants to leave me a comment telling me he has planned a sequel, I will return that star.