Judy Finchler

The big idea of this story was to show how teacher's have a life outside of school.

I loved this book for a few reasons. I loved the point of view of this book. The story was told from a student's perspective about what he thinks about teacher's private lives. It was humorous because the students all thought that the teacher's live, eat, and sleep in the school.

I also liked this book because it was relatable to me personally. I remember when I was younger, I used to think it was so weird to show more see teacher's outside of school because it was so strange to me that they had personal lives. Now that I am older and have personal relationships with some of my old teachers, it seems so silly that I ever thought that. And, now that I am going to be a teacher, I can definitely expect students to view me the same way. show less

I thought "Testing Miss Malarky" was pretty darn funny. The artwork was bright and funny, and the text was great.

The story is about the stress of Testing Season. And what's funny is that it's not really the kids that feel under pressure so much as the adults in their lives. The story is told from the point of a boy who is oblivious as to what is going on in the background. One example that made me chuckle is when he is listening in on a PTA meeting where frantic parents are asking questions show more about how the test will effect the future. 'Will it hinder my child's chances of getting into an Ivy League school?' 'Will it effect Real Estate prices?" (Well, yes ultimately to both surprisingly.)

Talking Points:::
Colorful, fun artwork.
Because testing doesn't really start --in our area at least-- until 3rd grade my son didn't get it. Older kids will though, and it will be something for them to share with the adults they like. **3.5 Stars** Above Average

Pam T~
mom and reviewer for BooksForBooks-reviews show less

I thought this was a really good book. The main idea of the story is to express the feelings and stress that is placed on the schools and communities during annual testing. However, I really like this book due to the point of view that the story is told through. Rather than the teacher, Miss Malarkey, expressing the stress placed on her, it is told through first person of a student in Miss Malarkey’s classroom. For instance, the student tells the reader that Miss Malarkey says the test show more isn’t that important, yet he notices Miss Malarkey biting her nails, Principle Wiggins yelling over the phone about the test, and even his own mother prepping him for the test. I like this, because student’s can relate to the story since it is in the point of view they witness during the annual testing. Second, I like this book due to the dialogue. Rather than just telling the story, the reader can engage in the story and the feelings of the characters by reading the dialogue speech bubbles that are added to the illustrations. For example, during the story when the student attends the PTA meeting with his mom, the reader can read the speech bubbles of the parents who are freaking out about the test. By including these, it makes the reader feel as if they are there at the PTA meeting with the student and the stressed out parents. show less

This is a hilarious story about one boy who thinks his teacher lives at school. We get to see what teachers "really" do when students leave. Judy Finchler answers students many questions and ideas about teachers lives through the eyes of one boy. Kevin O'Malley's illustrations capture each moment perfectly. His use of colors and shades to create a story within the pictures make this book an excellent one to have in every classroom. They instantly draw the reader in and want you to keep show more flipping pages. This books main idea is to teach students that teachers are real people just like anyone else and consequently can help students relate to their teacher better. show less