Ms. Rapscott's Girls

Bravo to Katherine Kellgren, whose prodigious narrating skills are on display in this production. Kellgren moves up and down her vocal register with seeming ease and employs a shifting tempo as she narrates this droll tale of girls who are shipped off--literally, in cardboard boxes--to a lighthouse school, where they're transformed into "Rapscott girls" by the devoted headmistress of the same name. Ms. Rapscott--with her imperious voice full of pronouncements--rolls her "r's" at every possible opportunity, rattles off lists of parental offenses, and waxes sadly about her own birthday-cakeless childhood. Kellgren elongates vowels for emphasis and creates memorable voices for some of the girls, such as screeching Beatrice and whining Faye. This story is practical, adventure filled, and fun. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

March 2, 2015
In this breezy novel, Primavera (Libby of High Hopes) evokes the spirit of such larger-than-life characters as Willy Wonka and Mary Poppins with Ms. Rapscott, the mysterious, take-charge, and oddly nurturing headmistress of the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents. In a sequence of wordless pencil illustrations à la The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Ms. Rapscott and her stalwart corgi assistants stand atop the school's lighthouse to greet a fleet of five large flying boxes containing their newest students. Four girls (one box arrived empty) comprise a motley class of ill-mannered and lonely children whose parents have no time for them, a circumstance the headmistress knows well. Starting with a daily breakfast of birthday cake and ice cream, Ms. Rapscott takes her charges on fantastical journeys that include riding on the backs of seal-like creatures called Seaskimmers, searching for their missing classmate, and flying in Amelia Earhart's plane. Primavera charmingly depicts the girls' activities in her soft pencil artwork, and a neat resolution and the suggestion of a new school term will leave readers eager for another outing. Ages 8â12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.