Charlie Bumpers vs. the Teacher of the Year

This was an enjoyable book. The plot is simple enough for a good second grade reader but probably best for 3-4 grades. Charlie Bumpers is a fourth grader who appears to take things too seriously and expects the worse. Mrs. Burke is his fourth grade teacher from the book title. He had mistakenly hit her with a shoe when he was in third grade and thus very unhappy when he learns she will be fourth grade teacher. He seems to find trouble, usually when he has the best of intentions. All ends well, and we get a little lesson about Mrs. Burke's dry sense of humor.

The summer before fourth grade, Charlie is given the terrible news that he will be in Mrs. Burke's class. She's super neat and expects her students to be neat, she's really tall and can see everything, and she caught Charlie last year and told him, "If I ever see you doing that again, you will stay in from recess for the rest of your life!" Charlie really upset Mrs. Burke and since then he has feared her. Charlie's first few weeks in Mrs. Burke's class don't go exactly as smooth as they should. When Charlie's parents find out incident after incident, his dad tells him, "You've got to straighten up. Pay attention to what you're doing, and don't do any more dumb things." Back at school, Mrs. Burke told him something similar and made sure show more he knew he needed to start thinking before doing things. Mrs. Burke was Teacher of the Year last year for a reason. It just took Charlie Bumpers a little longer than others to realize why she earned that title. show less

I read this at the same time I was listening to Don Calame's "Call the Shots" and this could almost serve as a prequel to his series, what with hapless Charlie's assorted ordeals. Light and funny.

Great book that puts one in the position of being a child. This book can relate to readers who are around the same age. The way the main character over thinks things.

This book is about a boy named Charlie Bumpers he is a fourth grader who appears to take things too seriously and expects the worse. Mrs. Burke is his fourth grade teacher/ He had mistakenly hit her with a shoe when he was in third grade and so he was very unhappy when he learns she will be his fourth grade teacher. He seems to find trouble, usually when he has the best of intentions. All ends well, and we get a little lesson about Mrs. Burke's dry sense of humor.

Charlie Bumpers is sure he does not stand a chance of getting along with his fourth grade teacher and despite his best efforts to be neat and well-behaved, he always seems to be in trouble until he discovers her secret.