Aliens Don't Wear Braces (The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, #7) (Paperback)

by Debbie Dadey (Author), Marcia T. Jones (Author) "Howie hung his purple bookbag in his third-grade classroom at Bailey Elementary School..." (more)
Key Phrases: new art teacher, Principal Davis, Bailey City, Bailey Elementary (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The kids at The Bailey School begin to suspect that their art teacher, a strange woman with white hair and braces, is an alien from outer space.

About the Author
Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thorton Jones came up with the idea for The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids when they both worked at a school in Lexington, Kentucky. Today Debbie and her family live in Fort Collins, Colorado. Marcia and her husband still live in Kentucky.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Other Printing edition (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590470701
• ISBN-13: 978-0590470704
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #412,444 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take me to your leader..., March 7, 2001

By	Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews

Strange occurrences are common at Bailey School. Santa Claus has (maybe...) come in to clean floors. The 3rd grade teacher is a vampire. Ghosts eat potato chips and NOW, it seems an alien has come to take over the art class!

Mrs. Zork is the new art teacher, and she is by far one of the strangest Bailey School characters yet. When she first comes to class, her hair is dead white, as is her skin-she looks like chalk. And what's with this business of her wearing braces?? And why did the power go out in the school right before she arrived? Come to think of it, what was that strange sound and light in the sky right before she came to school...?? My gosh, is she an alien from outer space?!

"Aliens Don't..." is the 7th book in the Bailey School Kids series, and marks a return to strange and creepy characters. Some other books, like "Santa Claus Doesn't Mop Floors", were more funny and enjoyable than weird and creepy. Something about Mrs. Zork, with her pale skin, white hair and odd ways (she doesn't even know what painting is!) is just plain strange. What's far MORE strange is how things seem to be loosing their colors when she's around... Pictures near the art room seem to be fading, flowers are dull-looking when she's around them, and what's more, isn't Mrs. Zork's pale skin starting to show some color??

The Bailey School Kids series is a fast paced, often funny set of books that will appeal to a lot of young readers who are looking to branch out into short, illustrated chapter books. The subject matter-- strange and supernatural creatures with an oddly human twist (like wearing braces)-- is likely to appeal to most young readers. There's plenty of evidence pointing to Mrs. Zork being an alien from outer space. However, like the other books in the series, there is also room for doubt, usually expressed through the opinions of the unbelieving class clown, Eddie. The fact that only about 4 or 5 of the 3rd graders at Bailey ever even NOTICE these weird goings-on and that they share a secret is one of the appeals to this series.

"Aliens Don't..." is a more engaging read than some of the other books in this series, perhaps because Mrs. Zork is just so strange and creepy (really, wouldn't a woman with dead-white hair and skin and shiny, glowing braces creep YOU out??). Yes, the illustrations are a bit cartoon-like and may detract from the story for some readers, but it's also a fun, swift read for beginning and intermediate readers. It comes recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Pass This Book !!!, May 8, 2002

A Kid's Review

Aliens Don't Wear Braces by Debbie Dadey

Have you ever heard of an alien that wears braces? This book is about four kids named Howie, Eddie, Melody, and Liza. These kids had a substitute in art and they had a feeling she was an alien. Help them solve if the art teacher is an alien or not.

The reason I like this book was it is a mystery. Is the art teacher an alien? Another reason I liked this book was that they did some spying and they might get caught spying.

The author wrote this book to show how curious these kids are. A lesson the author wrote in this book was to have confidence in yourself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is one of my favorite Bailey School Kids books, August 11, 1998

By A Customer

This book was totally cool. I loved it. It has a great plot, and mystery. Take my advice, and read it!