The Office--A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary

August 10, 2020
The core dynamic of hit TV show The Office was childish behavior, so transferring the characters to an early elementary school setting should be a no-brainer. Certainly it doesn’t take a big leap of imagination to see Michael Scott, the book’s narrator, as an eager but highly disorganized line leader (“I don’t have a plan,” he says, looking at the reader as a “World’s Best Line Leader” sippy cup sits on his desk), and Dwight Schrute as his overly ambitious “Assistant to the Line Leader.” The rest of the cast is here, too, drawn by Demmer (A Place for Pluto) in a wide-eyed cartoon style with just enough distinctive features to recall the cast of the American series. Pearlman (Pink Is for Boys) layers in the interesting idea that Michael’s line anxieties aren’t wholly unwarranted—there are a lot of ways to organize a line, which could inspire some lively discussion and even fun classroom activities. But the repackaging stumbles with bland jokes (“That’s what she said”) and in its portrayal of Toby, whose exclusion and bullying by others—played for rueful laughs in the television series—is downright mean here. Ages 4–8.

An earnest but incompetent kid strives to bring order to his elementary school classroom in this picture-book companion to the TV show The Office. When Michael Scott is appointed class Line Leader at Dunder Mifflin Elementary, he has his mom fashion him a sippy cup that reads "World's Best Line Leader." A kid named Dwight observes the chaos in the classroom--which is mystifyingly devoid of adults for the entire book--and tells Michael he might need some help. Other kids agree. Accepting Dwight as Assistant to the Line Leader, Michael proceeds to tell Angela to plan a party to be held in five minutes' time and then struggles to fulfill his function by lining the kids up. Several pages of ineffectual lining-up later, Pam suggests Michael ask for help. A brainstorming session yields several ideas, including "beet harvesting, ...pretzel toppings, cuteness, [and the] buddy system." As Michael surveys his classmates happily eating cake, he concludes, "I lead a great class." In Demmer's cartoon illustrations, all the kids have a bobblehead look, with wide, staring eyes; most, including Michael, present White. Periodically the narrative stops to allow one or two students to break the fourth wall and comment on the action in some fashion. These interruptions are in keeping with the TV show's formula but do not provide enough scaffolding to allow child readers to understand what's going on; nonsensical dialogue ("A mistake plus Keleven equals seven!") likewise excludes children from the joke. Adult readers with familiarity with the TV series may find it hilarious. Readers with no familiarity--that is, just about every single kid in this book's putative audience--will not. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.4-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 51.5% of actual size.) A picture book for The Office-loving adults to read by themselves. (Picture book. 4-8)

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