Miss Malarkey Won't Be in Today

I liked this book for many reasons and I was able to laugh and relate to it. I liked this books language, it was comical and it would keep a child (even parent) engaged and laughing at the story. For example, the one possible substitute name was Mrs. Ungerware, which sounds like underwear and that is what the children call her. I also liked the characters in this book. The main character, Mrs. Malarkey (the teacher) was calling in sick but then she proceeded to worry about the substitutes and the children. From what I know, this is typical of many teachers. They worry when the children have a substitute that no work will get done or they will take advantage of the substitute. The main idea in this book was that teachers are determined show more and hardworking, even when they are sick! show less

Summery:
In this short story, a classroom teacher catches a cold. She has to take a day off of work, and worries about her class all day long, until she finally goes up to school and they class tells her all about how they miss her, and how well behaved they were for the substitute teacher, and how everything was taken care of.

Personal Reaction:
I really liked this book, and as always I love all the color in the illustrations. The plot was really cute, and I could relate to the book, because I am quite the worry wart!

Classroom Extension:
Do a science and health section over germs and how they're spread.
Have the students color a picture of their teacher and what she'd look like if she was sick.

Miss Malarkey is a hilarious story about a teacher who gets sick and is thinking about all the substitute teachers her students could get and all the things that could go wrong and happen while she is out. She thinks about how her students could a substitute that will not pay attention to them, one that will be extremely mean. She then shows up to the school and turns out the students want to take care of her.

I loved this book. It was funny and entertaining. I can relate to this because my mom used to be a substitute teacher and she was always too nice to the students but they were really mean to her. And I guess the way I relate to that is because as a person who wants to be a teacher, I wonder if when I have a substitute if the show more substitute will be mean or will my students. And this book helps teach students that.

I would use this book in a classroom to read it to my students right before they had a substitute. Just so they could get a good laugh and understand that it will be okay in the end. show less

Summary:
Miss Malarkey wakes up feeling ill. She decided that her class will need a substitute, but she spends the whole day worrying about which sub the principal will call for her class and how they will behave.

Personal Reaction:
As a teacher, I often left this book for my substitutes to read aloud in my absence. The class and I would talk about how hard it was for me to be gone and how I worried about them. I can really relate to this story.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. I would have my students write about what their sick day at home is like.
2. I could also have students write about what they do in class when I'm gone.

In this book Miss Malarky becomes sick and will not be able to teach that day. She calls to have a substitute come in for the day. She knows that her children can be a handful, so she ends up worrying about which substitute they will end up with. The possibilities have the children making fun of the substitutes names, flooding the room, or being frightened. She ends up going up to the school to check on her students and they are behaving themselves. They send her home and tell her not to worry, they will be just fine with the substitute they have. When she leaves to head home it suddenly hits her, that this substitute has a funny name too, and that the kids could cause her grief as well.

This book is very cute. I enjoyed reading it and show more giggled aloud a few times. I particularly enjoyed how each new possible substitute had an intriguing name that was a play on words such as: Mr. Doberman, or Mrs. Ungerwear.

In my classroom, I would use this book if I ever needed a substitute. I would try to have a folder with a few lesson plans, and activities and have the book in there for the substitute to read. I could also use this book towards the beginning of the school year as a way to let the students know how important it is to behave when a substitute is present. As a class we could come up with a set of rules to follow if ever I am not there. show less

Takes us through the hilarious imaginings of a teacher who's home sick from school. She's desperately worried about her students and how they will behave for various subsitutes, such as the dreaded "Mrs. Ungerware" (not-so-affectionately known as "Mrs. Underwear") or "Ima Burpa"!

Review: Miss Malarkey had to call in sick with the flu and now she is worried about all the substitute teachers that could possibly teach her class. Miss Malarkey starts to remember substitutes from Mrs. Ungerware; the students call her Mrs. "underwear." All the way to Mr. Lemonjello, who the students walk all over because his lack of leadership skills. Miss Malarkey imagines every worse case possible with her classroom. After she realizes her classroom is well behaved she can finally relax.

Personal Reaction: This book made me laugh. It had its humor of how some teachers think about their substitutes. I also really liked the illustrations. They showed real reactions and facial expressions of both students and teachers.

Extension: Read show more this book to the students when I know that I will be gone a certain day so that we could talk about how not to treat substitutes. Then I also overheard an idea to leave the book for the substitute to read before they start their class day. show less