My Teacher is an Alien

I'm a sophomore in college and for some reason I started to remember all the books I read when I was a kid. Bruce Coville stuck in my mind because his books are the absolute best, and I read every single one of his that were out at the time. Even though I don't like to read science fiction, and the only science fiction I like is Star Wars, these books are the greatest of all time. In fact they're so awesome that I might as well as buy all of Bruce Coville's books and read them all over again. If you have a kid in elementary school, you must force them to read Bruce Coville books just like you make them brush their teeth and wash their hands. No child completely experiences childhood unless they read Bruce Coville. I guarantee that as soon as your kid reads one of Coville's books, they will be hooked.

When I come across a title such as this, I just have to take a look at the book for myself; when I find that there are three additional books forming a whole series based on the whole alien teacher concept, I have to read them all; I don't care if it's classified as "children's literature" because, to be frank, there are a lot of good "children's literature" books out there these days. With books such as this, by authors as engaging and gifted as Bruce Coville, aimed primarily at a fourth to sixth grade reading audience, it is harden to imagine that many kids just do not have any interest in reading. Heck, I'm an adult, and I loved this book. It's neither too long nor too short, puts believable characters in an extraordinary situation, mixes humor with warmth and intelligence, and - in case you missed it - features a substitute teacher who is in fact a reptilian alien in disguise. What's not to like here?This first person story is told by Susan Simmons, your ordinary sixth grader. She has been looking forward to the final weeks of the school year because her teacher, Ms. Schwartz, is going to have the children stage a play. She is soon shocked to learn that Ms. Schwartz is not coming back; to make matters worse, the new teacher, Mr. Smith, has no interest in staging plays or teaching in his predecessor's unconventional but highly effective (i.e., fun) style. Susan doesn't like Mr. Smith at all, and like many a kid before her eventually finds herself in a bind thanks to a note she wrote in class. In her attempt to get the note back, she discovers that Mr. Smith is actually an alien and that he has come here to take five students back with him to wherever he came from. What's a girl to do? No adult would ever believe her, and most kids would think she was joking. She turns to Peter, a smart but unmotivated boy who eats, lives, and breathes science fiction. He doesn't exactly buy her story at first, but together they find enough evidence to convince him that she is telling the truth. Now all they have to do is find and save Ms. Schwartz, avoid being carried off into space by Mr. Smith, and somehow prove to even the most skeptical of adults that "we are not alone."This book isn't scary at all, but there are a couple of suspenseful scenes involving the children snooping around in potentially dangerous places. Susan and Peter make for engaging characters, especially Susan; we see her having to deal with the reality of staying out of trouble, preparing for a big piccolo solo in the school concert, and forging a real friendship with Peter, on top of worrying herself sick over her big secret and struggling to come up with a plan of action. This really is an engaging, fast-paced science fiction tale that should spark the imagination of many a young reader.

A truly great series. I first read it was I was probably 11 or 12 (which is the target-audience). I loved them. I have read them probably 5 or 6 times. Coville is an excellent writer; this is one of his crowning achievements in children's literature. Now I am twenty. I pulled out my old dusty copies of these works, and as soon as I finish Hunt for the Autumn Clowns I'm going to take a quick trip down memory lane with this serious (before I tackle the Potter books and R. Jordan). This is a very well-constructed series. The first book is an absolute classic. Although the others are excellent, just like Lion, Witch, Wardrobe this will be the one everyone thinks of when they think of the series. It has classic elements of an alien trying to kidnap people to do experiments and testing on. Save in this (if I remember correctly) you don't know WHY he wants the people, or kids. Then we go to the second, My Teacher Fried My Brains. A very lovable sequel, it is here we get into the mind of Duncan Dougal, the bully in the first book. We find "poots", a Medusa-like alien, and machine that makes you perceive music/TV in yr head and makes you a zillion times smarter (the zillion being a rough estimate, of course ;)). And it seems, perhaps, there is something more to the aliens then at first they thought. Won't give any spoilers away, so don't worry. But there is a nice little surprise at the end. Then we get to the third volume, My Teacher Glows in the Dark. My personal favorite, it's set on the spaceship New Jersey. It introduced all sorts of nice imagery, and concepts I have used in my own writings (The URAT. Surgically installed device, so you can understand the other creatures on board. Though not by device, I have used similar methods to cross over the language barrier when I want to have different species get together in my own stories for any suspended period of time). We get to meet the lovable Hoo-Lan, who is quite the doll. It is set entirely on the ship (with the exception of an instance where they go onto another planet), as state up above, so we get to see fascinating alien environments. Then we get to the fourth, My Teacher Flunked the Planet. It is here the series as a whole climaxes. It is the darkest story of the lot, primarily because of its subject matter is a lot denser and much more real in the sense of tragedy than the other three stories. The others build up to this moment. From a writer's standpoint, this is a most excellent case or instance of carefully crafted and wrought stories for children. It is here Coville ties up the loose ends (and there are quite a few). The ending is a very interesting concept or perception of humanity. Although I am a Christian, and I do not agree with the whole evolution idea, for the sake of the story it worked. It is much more of a sentimental favorite for me, because I grew up reading (and reading and reading and reading) these fo

This first novel in the Coville's "My Teacher" series is, in several ways, unique from the three proceeding stories that follow it. In one of his biggest best sellers, childrens' Bruce Coville sets out to tell a story that will capture the imagination of a typical fourth to sixth grader, while writing a story of enough substance to delight adults as well. The premise is certainly interesting enough: what would happen if one of your teachers was an alien? Worst yet, what if said alien was planning to kidnap you and four of your classmates at the end of the school term? Coville takes that premise and runs with it. The main heroine, Susan Simmons, has just that situation on her hands. This is the story of how Susan must find a way to overcome Mr Smith, who is not quite as human as he appears. There are several memorable scenes, such as the first time Susan sees Mr. Smith unmasked, the unraveling mystery of what happened to Ms Schwartz, the teacher Mr. Smith replaced, the ongoing tension and fear the school begins to feel as the alien rumours spread, and the towering climax at the story's end. Where Coville keeps the story so accessible is he takes everyday life at school that kids are intimately familiar with, and charges up it with a tightly structured, fast paced science fiction plot that keeps you reading. All the typical school kids are here. The school bully (Duncan Dougal). The social, geeky outcast (Peter Thompson). The goodytwoshoes kids (Stacey and Mike). The average, well rounded student (Susan Simmons). Enough cannot be said about Broxholm, the alien. The character is well drawn, believable, and scary. You really start rooting for Susan to overcome him. In the first book, he is a menance that must be overcome. All this changes in this book's three sequels. It stands as a testemant to Coville's skills as a children's writer that by the end of the four novels you truly sympathise with Broxholm. In the end, Coville has created a highly readable story that will keep kids clamoring for more. I dare say if there are any adults along for the ride they will find this book a highly enjoyable light read as well. The first novel in the series, in many ways, is also the most different. After becoming an international bestseller, Coville wrote three more sequels to this story. They are as exciting and fast pace as the original are, although much more serious and not nearly as light hearted. The principal difference between the first "My Teacher" book and the proceeding three is this is very much a stand-alone book. You can read this without reading the other three. The other three are all heavily interdependent of one another to conclude the story. The other principal difference between this and the sequels is the first book is a rollicking good science fiction story without any deep undercurrents or themes. Starting with the first sequel, "My Teacher Fried My Brains," Coville develops the story to a deeper philosoph

This was an awe inspiring series. I started it in 6th grade and saved pennies to get all the books. Mr. Coville deals with real life problems in an entertaining and enlightening manner. He's so clever at including values and life lessons that you don't realize you've learned something until after you've raced through the book. I'm now 20 yrs. old and just before I wrote this I was rereading the books. They're still great! If you have to do a book report and you don't mind getting hooked on reading for life. Start this series. You won't regret it.