From Publishers Weekly
Despite her name, which suggests deception rather than reliability, grade-school teacher Miss Malarkey really does have the flu. She calls in sick, but then she worries about her students, who must face some member of the substitute teaching staff. Miss Malarkey shudders to think of mousy Mrs. Ungerware, nicknamed "Mrs. Underwear" by the class, or frumpish Mr. Lemonjello, whose quavery name matches his ineffectual leadership style. In her robe and bunny slippers, the feverish woman races to work, where her students calmly send her to the nurse's office. Finchler narrates from Miss Malarkey's point of view, while O'Malley overlaps images of the distressed teacher's imagined scenes of classroom mayhem. As in Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10, the collaborators offer a reminder that teachers have lives outside school and indicate Miss Malarkey's dedication to her job. Yet they do a great disservice to fill-in instructors, all of whom are portrayed as inadequate. Though children will likely chuckle, the laughs are at the subs' expense: at story's end, the students prove well-behaved and Miss Malarkey relaxes, but the overriding lesson is that neither adults nor children respect substitute teachers. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Miss Malarkey, an elementary school teacher, isn't feeling well and calls in sick. She worries about who'll teach in her place, and how he or she will deal with her class and vice-versa. She imagines different substitutes taking over, from the fearsome Mr. Doberman to the meek pushover, Mr. Lemonjello. Anxious and preoccupied, she rushes to the school. Finding everything quiet, she collapses in the hall outside her classroom. Her students gather around her expressing their concern. As they did in Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10 (Walker, 1995) the author and illustrator have created a book full of comic frenzy. The typeface varies in size, font, and boldness while the exaggerated full-color drawings, especially the overblown facial expressions, add to the atmosphere of general mayhem. While the last page misses the mark going for the big laugh, there are more than enough chuckles to entertain listeners or independent readers. Offer this to substitute teachers to use as an icebreaker.
Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WICopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
