Class Dismissed

August 1, 2015
When a fed-up teacher unexpectedly resigns, her unruly fifth-grade class decides not to tell anyone. Woodrow's agile classroom comedy has much in common with the kind of sports story during which the bumbling players come together to win the big game. Similarly, this novel is about a group of disparate children who learn how to cooperate as a team, making friends and honing their talents to achieve victory. The story is narrated in alternating first-person voices by five classmates: Kyle, the bully; Samantha, the critical rich-girl fashionista; Eric, the so-quiet-he's-practically-invisible writer/wallflower; Maggie, the bossy brain; and Adam, the well-meaning kid who is always in trouble. The children think their teacher's absence will be a blast, but there are many problems to solve, the most challenging being the creation, rehearsal, and performance of an original play about the American Revolution for after-school activity night. The play, a comic set piece that neatly caps the action, is this book's big game, and besides being funny and delightful, it showcases the group's new grasp of teamwork and also demonstrates how each child has grown individually. The story is a little slow to get going, and inexperienced readers may find it difficult to distinguish among the narrative voices, but the premise can't miss.Aimed equally at boys and girls, this engaging comedy offers some life lessons with a giggle. (Fiction. 8-12)

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October 1, 2015

Gr 3-5-The fifth graders in Class 507 can be challenging, frustrating, and disruptive. After months of eraser fights and daily visits to the principal's office, an over-exploding science project eventually tips the scales. Their teacher, Ms. Bryce, immediately resigns, but her declaration never actually reaches the principal. It doesn't take the students long to determine that their class is "teacherless" and no one knows! Instantly, the fifth graders begin dreaming of daylong recess, no rules, and no homework. After further thought, the students begin to worry about a scheduled field trip, student duties, and their upcoming class play. Ultimately, they realize they must band together to keep their cover. Just how long can they keep their secret? Woodrow provides readers with multiple perspectives on the humorous and engaging scenario. The narration of events alternates among five exceedingly different student perspectives. For example, Maggie, the studious Harvard hopeful, is determined to take the teacher's role, overseeing all classroom needs. The quiet loner, Eric, must take risks by letting his voice be heard to protect the class secret. While having differing viewpoints is valuable to the plot, individual character voices are weak; tone, word choice, and sentence structure all remain similar despite the changing viewpoints. Additionally, the central plot loses steam with the multiple perspectives, as side plots are initiated and third tier characters are introduced. VERDICT Woodrow's realistic novel is light, with a handful of coming-of-age lessons, yet it fails to quench the thirst of the original premise, a teacher-free fifth-grade classroom.-Mary-Brook J. Townsend, Episcopal Collegiate School Library, Little Rock, AK

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015
Grades 3-7 Ms. Bryce has been teaching forever, and her current class is the worst she has ever had. When a volcano experiment goes horribly wrong and ruins yet another pair of her shoes, she quitsin the middle of the lesson. Due to an emergency, her call to the office to inform the administration of her resignation is answered by a student, so no one in charge knows. That leaves the class unattended and in control of themselves. One of the brighter students takes the leadership role, making up worksheets and tests and taking charge of the classroom. All is not smooth sailing, however, when she realizes that a teacher's job is much harder than she ever thought, and her classmates realize how many things can go wrong while trying to keep a big secret. Told from the alternating perspectives of five classmates, this story of students joining together to learn lessons not always taught in classrooms will be a good fit for readers ready to graduate from the Captain Underpants series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)