Substitute Creacher

May 23, 2011
Six unruly children are in for a shock when a green-speckled, one-eyed, tentacled monster (wearing a neat brown suit) shows up as their substitute teacher. Mr. Creacher also has three eyes on the back of his head, the better to intercept the inevitable tack-on-the-chair prank. He speaks in rhymesâencased in slimy-looking voice bubblesâand informs his disorderly students that, over 49 years, "I've collected some tales/ whose lessons are grave/ about boys and girls/ who didn't behave." He calmly launches into brief cautionary tales of children whose deeds bring big trouble. A glue-eater sticks to everything he touches, a doodler's dragon comes alive, andâworst of allâa boy (named Chris) steals from classmates and is transformed into a monster: " 'Til he repaid his debt,/ a creacher he'd be./ And by now you should know:/ That monster is me." Gall (Dinotrux) illustrates in explosive, cinematic panels; retro Ben-Day dot patterns allude to classic funnies. If the dire warnings fail to inspire repentance, Mr. Creacher's dilemmaâand a conclusion that breaks the spellâmay warm the
cold hearts of defiant substitute baiters. Ages 3â6.

July 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-Misbehaving kids meet their substitute-a one-eyed, green-tentacled monster that spouts rhyming cautionary tales of mischievous miscreants. There's Keith, who ate so much glue that random objects started sticking to him; Sara, who stuffed her desk so full of junk that it eventually exploded; Chris, a bully who stole candy from other kids and as punishment was turned into...the monster they see before them. As he gives away the last of the candy he stole long ago, the Substitute Creacher sheds his green skin, turning back into a boy and returning to his long-lost home in the past. Gall's illustrations are colorful and catchy with their comic-book style, but the tone of the text veers wildly from gleeful cautionary tale to maudlin sob story, and the result doesn't quite gel.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2011

In this cautionary tale that combines humor and a touch of magic, good behavior is the lesson of the day when a particularly naughty class of students has a substitute teacher.

The seven-tentacled, green substitute teacher, Mr. Creacher speaks in rhyme and glares from his single eye (in front that is; he's got three in back). He regales the class with tales of children who failed to behave in school and the fates that befell them. There's Keith, the glue-eater who stuck to all he touched, Zach, the daydreamer who accidentally ate the class pet, and Kylie, the artist, whose drawing came to life and ravaged the classroom. Then, Beauty and the Beast-like, Mr. Creacher reveals that he himself was a naughty child, put under a spell and sentenced to teach children about their wicked ways. It works--the children promise to reform, and with his debt now repaid, Mr. Creacher can return to his own childhood a changed boy. Gall's illustrations use speech bubbles that drip with green slime and graphic-novel elements to great effect, creating artwork that pops off the pages and appears almost three-dimensional. Touches of humor take the edge off some of the more frightening scenes.

Great for both Halloween and the start of a new school year, this is certain to provide more than a few laughs to kids who have seen through Viola Swamp's disguise. (Picture book. 6-10)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from June 1, 2011
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Akin to those boxes of eyeballs (aka olives) that kids touch blindfolded before screaming their heads off, this is a delicious little shocker of a picture book that ought to whip your crowd of youngsters into a shrieking, laughing frenzy. A classroom of troublesome kids (they look rather like Rugrats) meet their match when giant, green, tentacled Mr. Creacher stops by to scare them straight. Speaking in ooze-bordered rhyme, the monster spins a series of two-page cautionary tales about the awful fates befalling misbehaving students. There was Keith, who ate glue and came to a rather sticky end; there was Kylie, whose constant doodles came back to bite her; and maybe worst of all was daydreamer Zach, who forgot to close the hamster cage before lunch: And no one else noticed / in time to shout FREEZE!' / that the sandwich he held / WAS OF HAMSTER AND CHEESE! (This and every other climax is illustrated with admirably twisted verve.) With dramatic low angles situated within comic-book panels, Gall portrays Creacher as deadly seriousuntil an unexpected twist reveals that the last victim in the casebook is Creacher himself, cursed by a magical gnome. A happythough slightly ominous!ending should help settle those still screaming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)