Apple Island Or Truth About [Hardcover]

Douglas Evans (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Bradley doesn't like school. It's boring and Mrs. Gross, his new teacher, is really crabby. But he has no idea how good school really is--not until he discovers that something is terribly wrong with the teachers. In fact, if Bradley doesn't act quickly, schools everywhere could be ruined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A teacher for many years, Evans (The Door at the End of the Hall) presents a whimsical, absurdity-charged satire. Bradley is stuck with one nightmare of a teacher, Mrs. Gross ("The chinless face, the squinty eyes, and a thick lower lip pushed out in a permanent scowl reminded [Bradley] of an overripe apple"). If readers don't get the picture from the descriptions, Di Fiori's hyperbolic line drawings leave no doubt that Mrs. Gross is wickedly off-putting, right down to the hairs on her chinny chin chin. Bradley realizes her thinking is a bit askew when she instructs her students that there's no need to put "the dumb b at the end of climb" and shows them a map of the U.S. containing 70 states. The nine-year-old then learns that he and his classmates are victims of Operation Misteach, a plot hatched on Apple Island, where Mrs. Gross lives with the rest of the world's crabbiest teachers. On a field trip there, Bradley separates from the group and encounters amusingly eccentric individuals who reveal the history of this outlandish land where lunch boxes sprout from the ground, boulders are made of chalk and paper grows on trees alongside an ink lake. Evans's imagery and wordplay are occasionally strained or redundant, but he compensates with many wry tidbits. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Bradley Zimmerman knows that something is just not right at school. His teacher, Mrs. Gross, new to the school, seems to be teaching everything all wrong. His suspicions are confirmed when he overhears her talking in the faculty room about Operation Misteach and that all of the children will soon be deliberately taught inaccurate information. Bradley and his classmates then find themselves on their way to Apple Island, the source of this evil plot. There, the children are brainwashed in the Operation Misteach regimen so that these evil teachers can control what their students think and know. Bradley escapes and musters support from the principal, secretary, bus driver, and custodian, all of whom remember the good teachers that left, leaving the likes of Mrs. Gross, a.k.a. Mrs. Eraser. She would make any child shutter. Readers also meet the ineffectual principal and the librarian who is literally living in the library and reading her way through the collection. While the story is somewhat heavy-handed, it has its humorous and adventurous moments. Line drawings illustrate Bradley's journey to justice. An additional purchase.
Cheryl Cufari, Glencliff Elementary School, Niskayuna, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Hand Print; 1st edition (October 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886910251
• ISBN-13: 978-1886910256
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,370,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Evans the author of children's books, plays, poems, comics, and music. His books include MVP*:Magellan Voyage Project, The Elevator Family, Apple Island, and the collections of classroom tales: Classroom at the End of the Hall, Math Rashes, and Mouth Moths. He holds a master's degree in education and has taught for twenty years in settings ranging from a small logging town in Oregon to international schools in Helsinki and London. He currently lives in Berkeley, California. Find out more about his books, plays, and music on his Web Site at: http://www.wtmelon.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good to the Core, October 16, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Apple Island Or Truth About (Hardcover)

A very unusual fantasy. I hope there will be more books about Apple Island.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward unrealness, September 23, 2005

By 

CrazyKid1234 (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple Island, or The Truth about Teachers (Mass Market Paperback)

This story is called Apple Island or The Truth About Teachers. Its about Bradley, a kid who's trying to stop the teachers' evil plan of operation misteach, which is very very dangerous to adults because teachers don't like adults and the kids (after operation misteach) will do whatever the teacher tells them to do. First the teachers take them for a bus ride. Then they take them on a blimp ride to Apple Island and Bradley escapes and after many hardships and making many new friends he finally rescues his class.

I recommend this book to any number of action adventure good joke loving readers who want a good book. I like it because of its straight forward unrealness which makes it outright hillarious as well as totally unmatched by anything I've ever read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth About Teachers!!!, April 8, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Apple Island, or The Truth about Teachers (Mass Market Paperback)

Do you want to know the truth about your teacher(s)? Bradley can help you with that! Well in the book APPLE ISLAND OR THE TRUTH ABOUT TEACHERS, by Douglas Evans. I think that 6-12 year old children should read this book! It is a thrilling book. If you like realistic fiction story then you should read this. I like the pictures in the book; also it has a lot of funny sayings in it about the teacher!! The setting is in the school and in the Apple Island!!!
Bradley gets a little feeling (okay or maybe a BIG feeling) about his teacher, Mrs. Gross. "She is teaching all the wrong stuff on purpose," says Bradley." Here's an example: come "Take out the E because its silent, there is no point of an E so why write an E?" Mrs. Gross is a very weird teacher.
Duncan, (Bradley's best friend,) thinks that Bradley has gone wild because he has been sneaking into the teachers lounge and has been saying things about Mrs. Gross. Mrs. Gross does something really nice to her class for the very first time! She has taken her class on a field trip to Apple Island. When the kids heard that they had no idea what their teacher was saying! Now if you think that Apple Island is a very nice, hot looking beach well...ITS NOT! It's just full of teachers, school work and work that would remind you of school. So if you ever hear or come across Apple Island don't go there!! I hope your teachers don't act or take you to Apple Island!