Ms. Rapscott's Girls

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.

December 15, 2014
Aided by her two corgis, the headmistress of the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents teaches her 8-year-old charges-Beatrice, Mildred, Fay and Annabelle, children whose parents don't have time for them-how to take care of themselves. Primavera's stylish story, while not laugh-out-loud funny, is undeniably humorous in tone, though paradoxically the situation is so poignant that it also has an underlying air of melancholy. The curriculum at Ms. Rapscott's school is "How to Find Your Way," and the students, who are brightly outlined but not given much internal shading, are graded on "pluck, enthusiasm, spirit of adventure, brilliance, and self-reliance." Ms. Rapscott, an indefatigable, charismatic leader who immediately sees the best in her initially unappealing charges, is full of inspirational remarks, urging her students to "be like a good pair of boots: sturdy, durable, and waterproof." The author's darkly whimsical black-and-white drawings supply atmosphere and also tell parts of the story. Although the tone is absurd and fantastical rather than representative and realistic, the girls, who are taught etiquette and survival basics such as how to write a thank-you note and "cross the street without getting squashed," grow and change in believable ways. This is not an emotionally involving tale but one that's quirky and imaginative, aimed at middle-graders who like their fiction with a twist. (Fiction. 8-12)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 3-6-At Great Rapscott School for the Daughters of Busy Parents, the lessons learned are far from the ordinary. From getting lost on purpose to a making birthday cake, Ms. Rapscott strives to create well-rounded students who can enjoy an adventure. After being shipped to the school in flying boxes, the students are not as keen on the adventures as Ms. Rapscott. Nonetheless, after time, the girls begin to see the beauty and fun in the "less travelled road" which is the Great Rapscott School. Elise Primavera, author and illustrator of the "Auntie Claus" (Houghton Harcourt) series and The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls (HarperCollins, 2006), blends artful drawings with a whimsical story line. Although there is an underdevelopment in the background and characters, the plot unfolds nicely. The story is unpredictably unique, and if readers can suspend their disbelief, they will be swept up in the narrative.-Brittney Kosev, Dave Blair Elementary School, Farmers Branch, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2015
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* A notice goes out: Attention Busy Parents! Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents has a unique curriculum designed solely for your daughter. For parents who are too busy to bring their daughters (which is all of them), a cardboard box is provided for mailing them to the school. This sets the tone for a story that fits neatly into the literary world of Mary Poppins and Nanny Piggins, where bemused children are brought up to snuff by a caring, albeit odd and occasionally alarming, caretaker. Here the children are belligerent Bea, fact-filled Amanda, nervous Fay, and lazy Mildred, and their teacher is Ms. Rapscott, a head-girl type who was once a child of busy parents herself and prefers a life so bracing that she lives in a lighthouse where the weather is always bad. How Ms. Rapscott pushes her charges beyond what they thought themselves capable of makes for a clever, highly amusing read with some sterling life lessons slipped in the cracks. Almost best of all are Primavera's fanciful pencil illustrations, featuring two of the most delightful (if silent) of the book's characters, Lewis and Clark, turtlenecked corgis that efficiently manage the girls and their hair-raising adventures. A plucky, invigorating romp with more adventures on the horizon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)