Mike Thaler (1936–2024)

Ok, yes, for the right audience, this is going to be a big winner. I found it awful... but also compelling, and I did actually grin a couple of times. And the boys do experience consequences....

It’s the third day of school. I’ve been sent to the principal’s office.

People go to Mrs. Green’s office and never return. Bones and skeletons, they say, fill the waiting room. The rug is red so that the blood doesn’t show.

What will happen to me? Will I become part of her coat rack? Food for her pet alligator? A paperweight or a bookmark? Maybe Mrs. Green will put me into one of the cages under her desk. Or send me home in chains.

What happens if she decides to keep me for one of show more her experiments? Will I end up with a dog’s head? A hamster’s hands? A chicken’s feet?

And now the door is slowly opening . . . .

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In this book, part of the author’s Black Lagoon series, Mrs. Green, the teacher in “The Teacher from the Black Lagoon,” has become the principal. And, although the being-sent-to-the-principal’s-office situation is not quite as relatable as a new teacher for young readers, even the best-behaved youngsters can imagine what it would be like to be sent to the principal’s office.

The targeted audience for this hilarious picture book, young readers ages four through eight, preschool through the primary grades, are sure to enjoy this preposterous tale filled with absurd imaginings and speculation. Young readers, familiar with school settings, are likely to empathize with the main character.

Colorful illustrations accompany the story; the imaginative tale is sure to keep youngsters giggling.

Highly recommended. show less

I will preface this review with the fact that I am a fan of Mike Thaler as an author and his Black Lagoon series of books. As the title surmises, this is about Hubie's summer vacation. Getting the basics out of the way, the print is a good size print for the young reader and the pictures certainly aid the story and help the reader along. I will even one further on this one. The pictures also contain dialect that keep the reader involved, mixing storyline with humor.

In this book our main show more character Hubie is off for summer vacation. He is bored to tears and tries to come up with creative things to do. Finally he comes up with making a Lemon Popsicle stand. He figured it would be a good idea since it was hot that summer. In the end Hubie has a great summer vacation because he gets to do things with his friend, Eric.

There are two things however that prevented this story from getting a perfect rating. When Hubie goes to mom to get some ideas of what he could do, Mom counter's with chores which Hubie quickly and successfully escapes from. I think this sends the wrong message to kids. Kids at this age are impressionable and if they can get a story line where their chores are hard work and he could still use that time to think up something better, that would have been a better story line.

The other thing was that for this particular story, Hubie seems to have been dumbed down. Normally Hubie is a pretty creative kid who thinks up ideas to do well and be successful. In this story, Hubie doesn't seem to know that lemonade popsicles melt in the hot sun without any refrigeration. All I am saying is that this Hubie was inconsistent with the other Hubies I read in past Black Lagoon stories.

I would still recommend this story however. I was a lot of fun to read and I think the kids would get a kick out of it. show less

Funny retelling of five Bible stories (Moses/Exodus, Absalom, Naaman, Hezekiah, Daniel/Lion's Den), best read aloud. CAUTION: NOT good for wee ones who don't know the Bible stories yet. I would recommend it for probably fourth grades and up. There are many humorous references that will tickle adults more than kids (just like in the cartoons from the 40's and 50's).
Some may feel the stories are somewhat irreverent, taking the Bible lightly, but personally, I think Mike Thaler's version is show more respectful of the truths the stories are designed to teach. Incidentally, my best audience for the stories has actually been adults! show less