The last thing the class expects when they go back to school is for their new teacher to be old! And then he gives them a goofy present-a book of coupons: one coupon for skipping school for a day; one coupon for not listening in class; one coupon for singing at the top of your lungs whenever you like. The list goes on! What is this wrinkly old teacher trying to do, get everyone in trouble? Susie Morgenstern follows up her award-winning book Secret Letters from 0-10 with a thoughtful, funny, and very original book that once again shows children that life is for the living.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Originally published in France, Morgenstern's (Secret Letters from 0 to 10) brief novel introduces Hubert No‰l, the new fifth-grade teacher in a French school. Though the students in his class are initially disgruntled that he is old, round and wrinkled, Monsieur No‰l soon wins them over with his penchant for giving presents. His first gifts to the children are books of coupons, entitling them to such privileges as sleeping in class, losing their homework and getting out of trouble. The second present he gives to the class, one per student, is David Copperfield ("My gift to you is the story, the characters, the words, the ideas, the style, the emotions. Once you have read the book, all these things will be yours for life"). Other gifts follow, and his idea of a field trip is to learn everyday lessons; for instance during a trip to the post office, he points out, "See how hard it is to wait your turn? You need a lot of patience in life." The author builds on an engaging premise, yet the story's point of view fluctuates, so that many of the supporting characters remain sketchy. Unlike her previous novel, the children here are overshadowed by the adults, Monsieur No‰l and his nemesis, principal Incarnation Perez. Still, the uplifting mood and Bloch's Thurber-esque caricatures make this an enjoyable outing. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-On the first day of school, Mr. Noel gives each of his fifth graders a book of coupons-one for sleeping late, another for eating in class, another for giving the teacher a kiss on the cheek. The students quickly discover that he is quite serious in honoring the coupons, whether for missed homework or for a skipped day of school. Not surprisingly, the autocratic principal does not approve of this unorthodox method of classroom management and tries to get rid of Mr. Noel. Unfortunately, both the writing style and the story are uneven. There are some very funny scenes, including a wild classroom dancing lesson, but there are also spots in which the plot stops dead in its tracks. Long, adult-toned digressions about Mr. Noel's absent family or the principal's lonely weekend plans seem to be totally out of place. Character development also focuses on the adults. The principal is a military-style martinet with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Her vendetta against Mr. Noel is personal, vindictive, and, ultimately, successful. Mr. Noel himself is a free spirit who loves his class but makes no effort to understand or defend himself against the principal's attacks. Readers learn the students' names, but there is little else to distinguish them from one another. Despite the slim format and humorous premise, this book promises more than it delivers.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book was first published in 1999 in French, under the title of Joker. The class returning to an unnamed grammar school for its final year were happy about finishing a French summer that grown boring, but found their new teacher, Hubert Noel, decidedly alarming.
He sat behind the desk like some unmovable tree trunk, and was so fat that Mohammed wondered if he were seeing double, or triple. He had so many wrinkles that some students thought he resembled "those pictures of God, with messy white hair and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, not to mention the balloon potbelly." His voice sounded like it came from the bowels of the earth.
But most alarming of all were the first words he spoke. Not, "my name is," or "sit down please" but "I have a present for you." And then the monstrosity gave each student a wrapped package. Inside, the children each discovered a book of coupons. They were not the kind of coupons one could use in a store.
No, each book contained one coupon for activities usually forbidden by schools --- sleeping late, skipping a day of school, being late to school, losing your homework, forgetting your books, not listening in class, sleeping in class, copying from your neighbor, not going when called to the blackboard, getting out of trouble, eating in class, making a lot of noise, singing at the top of your lungs when you like, dancing in class, taking a break, clowning around, telling a lie and giving the teacher a kiss.
The children were so startled by what they found that Benedicte, whom Mr. Noel appointed to read the coupons, had to stop, and Mohammed took over. He read six more coupons --- one each for hugging whomever you like, taking your own sweet time, taking a never-ending recess, forgetting the books for your assignment, taking a longer vacation and the piece de resistance, one wild card coupon.
At first the students used lots of coupons, but as the year progressed, they found that it was more fun to come to school and use the coupons en masse. This made for some surprising capers.
Everything Mr. Noel offered them was some present. An assignment to read Charles Dickens, for example, began with their receipt of gift-wrapped copies of David Copperfield. Try as they might to avoid reading it, they rather enjoyed the --- er, presents --- that Mr. Noel had given them. Aside from the pleasant fact that the author had the same name, Charles found he could not put the book down, and stayed up all night reading, which led him to use his late-to-school coupon the next day.
Before long, Mr. Noel got himself into very hot water with the tyrannical school principal, Incarnation Perez. How he extracted himself from that difficulty is but one of the things that makes this book magical.
Another is the priceless lesson that Mr. Noel imparted. "When you're born, you get a whole bunch of coupons."
Which ones? Charles, Laurent, and Benedicte shouted, the coupons for life --- for walking, speaking, learning to read, learning languages, learning geography biology and all the other `ologies,' for sports, the coupons for love.
Then the children did something very wild with their 26 collected wild card coupons. But you'll have to read this delightful tale to find out what.
--- Alyssa A. Lappen
He sat behind the desk like some unmovable tree trunk, and was so fat that Mohammed wondered if he were seeing double, or triple. He had so many wrinkles that some students thought he resembled "those pictures of God, with messy white hair and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, not to mention the balloon potbelly." His voice sounded like it came from the bowels of the earth.
But most alarming of all were the first words he spoke. Not, "my name is," or "sit down please" but "I have a present for you." And then the monstrosity gave each student a wrapped package. Inside, the children each discovered a book of coupons. They were not the kind of coupons one could use in a store.
No, each book contained one coupon for activities usually forbidden by schools --- sleeping late, skipping a day of school, being late to school, losing your homework, forgetting your books, not listening in class, sleeping in class, copying from your neighbor, not going when called to the blackboard, getting out of trouble, eating in class, making a lot of noise, singing at the top of your lungs when you like, dancing in class, taking a break, clowning around, telling a lie and giving the teacher a kiss.
The children were so startled by what they found that Benedicte, whom Mr. Noel appointed to read the coupons, had to stop, and Mohammed took over. He read six more coupons --- one each for hugging whomever you like, taking your own sweet time, taking a never-ending recess, forgetting the books for your assignment, taking a longer vacation and the piece de resistance, one wild card coupon.
At first the students used lots of coupons, but as the year progressed, they found that it was more fun to come to school and use the coupons en masse. This made for some surprising capers.
Everything Mr. Noel offered them was some present. An assignment to read Charles Dickens, for example, began with their receipt of gift-wrapped copies of David Copperfield. Try as they might to avoid reading it, they rather enjoyed the --- er, presents --- that Mr. Noel had given them. Aside from the pleasant fact that the author had the same name, Charles found he could not put the book down, and stayed up all night reading, which led him to use his late-to-school coupon the next day.
Before long, Mr. Noel got himself into very hot water with the tyrannical school principal, Incarnation Perez. How he extracted himself from that difficulty is but one of the things that makes this book magical.
Another is the priceless lesson that Mr. Noel imparted. "When you're born, you get a whole bunch of coupons."
Which ones? Charles, Laurent, and Benedicte shouted, the coupons for life --- for walking, speaking, learning to read, learning languages, learning geography biology and all the other `ologies,' for sports, the coupons for love.
Then the children did something very wild with their 26 collected wild card coupons. But you'll have to read this delightful tale to find out what.
--- Alyssa A. Lappen
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
My 9 year old raved about the book after reading it, then demanded (which she seldomly does) that I read it out loud to her siblings. The writing is polished. The content is warm and teaches life lessons. As I was invited to peek into the classroom of Monsieur Noel, I, too, could not put the book down and got choked up and teary as I read the last page. Had a great discussion with the kids afterward on "what coupons does your life give you?" and " what are you going to do with those coupons?". Great gift for anyone.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Kids would like Monsieur Noel
A fast read, sweet story about the year of schooling with an unusual teacher, Monsieur Noel. Initial doubt turns to understanding and growth by his charges, but his ways also... Read more
Published on June 16, 2007 by S. Silverman
Pleasant Read
Nice bed-time read. Provides examples of why we shouldnt pass judgement on people until we get to know them. Colorful characters entice children to continue to next chapter. Read more
Published on November 9, 2006 by JV Smith
Good Life Lessons
I read this book both with my six-year-old and my ten-year-old. Both thought it was delightful and gave us a lot to talk about, as in, "What is a tactless question? Read more
Published on February 5, 2005 by jeffrey
Wouldn't recommend it
I was really excited about reading the Book of Coupons. It had a cute premise about a teacher giving away coupons to teach kids about the really important lessons of life-- like... Read more
Published on December 15, 2001 by G. Hastings
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
to be honest, all the kids were happy to be going back to school. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Monsieur Noël, Incarnation Perez, Hubert Noël New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
to be honest, all the kids were happy to be going back to school. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Monsieur Noël, Incarnation Perez, Hubert Noël New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
book:
3
books
cite this book:
- David Copperfield (Modern Library Classics) by Charles Dickens on page 16
- Sixth Grade by Susie Morgenstern in Front Matter
- Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt on page 176
- Reading Aloud and Beyond: Fostering the Intellectual Life with Older Readers by Frank Serafini on page 73
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