Miss Nelson Is Back

Sweet Miss Nelson has a new class of students in Room 207, but like their predecessors in Miss Nelson Is Missing!, they have a talent for trouble, and like to test the boundaries a bit! When Miss Nelson must miss a week of school, after having her tonsils out, the children at first imagine that this will give them the perfect opportunity to act up. Then they hear the stories of scary substitute teacher Miss Viola Swamp, who appeared the last time Miss Nelson was missing. But will even that threat be enough to dissuade them from misbehaving, when boring Principal Blandsworth turns out to be their substitute instead?

This humorous second adventure to feature Miss Nelson and her surly counterpart, Miss Swamp, is just as fun as the first, show more with twice as many devious disguises! Students and teacher both get in on the act (with an interesting double-disguise at one point) in Allard's droll narrative, which is perfectly matched by James Marshall's zany illustrations. The style here is rather cartoon-like - fans of the artist's George and Martha books will know what to expect - and works very well with the over-the-top story. All in all, Miss Nelson Is Back is a most engaging follow-up to the initial Miss Nelson adventure, and more than enough to convince me to pick up the third, Miss Nelson Has a Field Day! show less

As a teacher, I would love to dress up as someone else to see how I would be treated differently. Great book to help children realize how good they have it and to appreciate what they have! Who would you rather have as a teacher, Miss Nelson or Miss Swamp? The illustrations help emphasize the freshness of the students and the meanness/witchy-ness. Remember to treat your teachers with respect!

This is a fun story about a teacher that is absent for a few days and her students decide to act up while she's gone. Originally, the principal was supposed to be the substitute, but after the students sneaky plan, they had no substitute! They students went wild. Miss Nelson decides to dress up as the mean substitute to give the students what they deserve. Later when she returns as herself, the students praise her and are happy she's back. The illustrations in this story are simple drawings. This is a great book to teach students about classroom behavior and being thankful for what you have. Young readers will love the witty humor and cute illustrations in this book.

This was my favorite picture book as a kid, I love reading it to my students and getting their reactions to the Swamp. I think that this is a great book to use as a teaching tool to discuss with your students how they should act if they have a substitute. Allard really did a great job capturing what it is like in an elementary classroom. There are always the ring leaders of the class who really represent the class for better or worse and it is hilarious to watch them come up with their plan to get rid of Blansworth as their substitute. One thing that I noticed about this book is that now that we have white boards, most students have never had to beat chalkboard erasers. So they had no schema to go with the students talking about their show more substitute problem as they beat the erasers. show less

I couldn't read one Miss Nelson and not read the other. In this episode, Miss Nelson announces to her class that she'll be gone all next week to get her tonsils removed. Her class talks to an older kid who suffered through the Swamp (Substitute Viola Swamp) last year, who scares them. When the sub finally appears, it's the mild-mannered and supremely boring principal. The kids decide to get rid of him--three of them dress up as Miss Nelson and send him back to the office--not too bright, that one. While out and about in town, the class walks right past Miss Nelson's house and she sees them. Something must be done, and shortly after the class arrives back at school, Miss Swamp appears. Miss Nelson makes an equally sudden reappearance. show more While an enjoyable read, Miss Nelson is Missing is probably the better of the two. Kids are nothing if not suspicious--and they do wonder why Miss Nelson didn't see Miss Swamp in the hall--but they don't have time to ponder it for very long. Still, the illustrations are charming and the prose is understated; Allard and Marshall have done another quality piece of work. show less

A hilarious tale of character as Miss Nelson leaves to have her tonsils removed. While she is gone the students are not very nice to their substitute, so then Mrs. Swamp, Miss Nelson's alter ego, comes in to take over! A light hearted read that is full of pranks and jokes!

I had no idea there were any sequels to Harry Allard’s Miss Nelson Is Missing! until I happened to come across them in the library. This one is similar in general feel to the original book, but doesn’t quite have the same punch. The story is sort of similar the first one—instead of abusing Miss Nelson and getting Miss Viola Swamp to teach them a lesson, the kids deceive Mr. Blandsworth, and end up getting Miss Viola Swamp to teach them a lesson.