Customer Reviews

Miss Nelson Is Missing!

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4 star:		(8)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

As I mentioned in my review of "Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales," I am taking a Children's Lit class in college, which requires me to read a lot of children's books. So, this is a great excuse for me to write more reviews. If you want to make fun of me for liking these books, so be it. I could care less.

"Miss Nelson is Missing" was always a childhood favorite for me. One of my first picture books I ever read, I think. I even remember that my copy came with a record that you could listen along to as you read. Wow, does that bring back memories. I picked this up a few days ago, and found myself enjoying it as much as I did when I was little, if not more.

This is a book about a sweet and nice teacher who has one of the most terrible classes ever. Everyone is mean and nobody ever listens to her. Miss Nelson knows that something has to be done.

One day, when she doesn't arrive to class, the children are so happy. They think they have driven her away forever. They are all smiles and grins.....until....

They meet Miss. Viola Swamp, an ugly and mean teacher dressed in black and white makeup. She puts them to work, yells at them, and makes them do tons and TONS of homework. Desperate and worried, the children turn to a detective in order to solve the whereabouts of Miss Nelson.

This book is incredible. Fun for all ages, especially the young ones. It's fun and gives a good moral lesson at the same time. It has great writing and very cool pictures. The reading level is pretty easy. Nothing too mind-bending behind it.

I recommend "Miss Nelson is Missing!" to ANYONE! Yes, I don't care how old you are. You're never too old to enjoy a good children's book, and I'm starting to re-discover that. Check this one out whenever you can. And if you have kids, I can almost promise you that this will be a favorite.

Like a lot of children, I came to discover Miss Nelson in a kind of roundabout way. A child of the 80s, I am a first-generation "Reading Rainbow" graduate. Which is to say, I watched it from the beginning. One of the earliest episodes of this remarkable PBS program was a reading of the story "Miss Nelson Is Back". For years I lay under the mistaken impression that this was the first, heck the ONLY Miss Nelson book put together by that crazy duo of Harry Allard and James Marshall. Imagine my surprise when I discovered (much to my delight) the delightful "Miss Nelson Is Missing". Here is where the Miss Nelson saga all started, and it is a joy to page through.

As the book points out immediately, the kids in Room 207 were the worst behaved class in the whole school. They were rude and nasty and they didn't pay any attention to their sweet-natured teacher Miss Nelson. One day, however, Miss Nelson does not come to school. In her place is the nasty, mean, foul-tempered witch Miss Viola Swamp. A true crone through and through, Miss Swamp immediately whips the children into shape. They are crushed by homework and forced to work that's long and hard. It's not too long after Miss Swamp's arrival that the children start yearning for the lovely Miss Nelson. Unfortunately, no one seems to be able to find her. Finally, one day Miss Nelson comes back and the class is as well behaved as it can be. Only the telltale black dress hanging in Miss Nelson's closet suggests that there may have been more to the class's transformation than initially met the eye.

The story is one that children instantly love. After all, they feel incredibly intelligent when they discover on their own that Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp are one and the same. Combine the funny text with James Marshall's goofy pictures and you've got yourself a fabulous classic. Mr. Marshall once noted that he based the design of Miss Viola Swamp on a teacher he once had (and disliked so much that he was able to reincarnate her years later as the world's ultimate horrible teacher). There's a lot to love in these pictures as well. When a child writes math problems on the blackboard, some of the answers are a little off. Children carry textbooks that read "Facts and More Facts" on their spines. Best of all, Mr. Marshall never fails to put a little drop of his beloved Texas into the pictures somewhere. Altogether, this book's a joy to flip through.

If you've a kid who has a quirky sense of humor and likes to see naughty children put in their places, definitely give this book a shot. It's a beautiful undertaking filled with great visual gags and an amusing text. Also be sure to seek out its sequels.

The kids in sweet Miss Nelson's class are rude and obnoxious, until a mean substitute replaces her. By the time Miss Nelson returns, they have learned to show their appreciation by behaving well. A great moral, certainly, but hardly sugar-coated: the children's misbehavior and the substitute's grouchiness are outrageous and delightful. This book is one of the most engaging I've ever read to my kids(ages 4-7)and a great success with my ADD child who normally has a hard time sitting through a story. It provides a great platform for inferencing and theory of mind work.

I used this book as a cautionary tale when I worked as a substitute teacher. I read it aloud to every class--including high school students. Sure enough, it helped them behave!

(Plus it's a really fun read, especially the silly ideas the kids come up with for finding Miss Nelson.)

Lovely Miss Nelson can't discipline her class and it shows. She is the brunt of their bad behavior. No problem, she knows what to do. She goes missing and in her place comes the horrible Miss Swamp. Miss Swamp whips (not literally) the kids into shape. When Miss Nelson returns the kids are well behaved and Miss Nelson is happy.

Very cute. It certainly is true and all kids quickly learn that if you don't behave well, the Miss Nelson in all of us will come out.

This is one of my favorite books. I want to be a teacher and I fear having a class like this. Miss Nelson is a nice little teacher adn her students walk all over her. One day Miss Nelson didn't show up and suddendly a mean looking lady appeared before them. It was Miss Viola Swamp. Their worst nightmare! She completely turned them around. When Miss Nelson returned the kids ere so grateful that they didn't give her a hard time ever again. What they didn't know was that Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp was the same person.

... we read about 9 stories a day (2 circle times in the morning and 1 story time in the afternoon before our sing along time)I often end up repeating the same books over and over because we simply run out of stories with all those circle times for the last 7 months. I saw the Miss Nelson book while browsing in a book store on my way to class(I am also a full time college student). I remembered the book title but not the story. I bought it and took it to work and the kids went wild. They loved it. The Next week I ordered Miss Nelson is Back and Miss Nelson Has A Field Day. They know every word by heart. They also love acting it out. This is a must have on any teachers list.

It's about a teacher named "Miss Nelson" that has a lack of control of her class and chooses other tactics to sway the children into obedience and homework. Miss Nelson decides to disguise herself in an elaborate witchs' costume (complete with the wig,nose and don't forget the chin implant). Miss Nelson is now THE infamous substitute teacher, "Viola Swamp". She snaps the kids into shape quick and just when everyone, including the town inspector, is about to give up all hopes of recovering the beloved Miss Nelson she shows up as if nothing had happened with a well kept secret her and Viola only share. The town inspector is now searching for "Viola Swamp". This book was a favorite of mine, first read to me by my first grade teacher and has stuck with me enough to recently purchase a copy to read to my five year old son. He loves it! His favorite character in the book is Viola Swamp. It's perfect for children and teachers alike!

When I was in second grade my teacher read this book to the class. Everyone loved the story and the illustrations were pretty good. But the next day at class our teacher wasn't there! In her place was a strange woman. Now, if you know anything about kids you understand that they can run on a wolf pack mentality, especially when it comes to substitutes. Under normal circumstances we would have pushed this stranger, this substitute, to the brink of insanity. Sure, we'd have had some casualties headed for the principal's office, but a substitue was an opportunity not to be missed. That is, unless she looked like Miss Viola Swamp!

And boy did this woman ever fit the bill! I can't recall ever seeing a group of second graders so attentive to the day's lesson, so well behaved! Now, the substitute wasn't all that bad, just not as nice as the actual teacher. But we all had Miss Nelson is Missing on our minds and everyone of us kept thinking "What if...?"

I'm just guessing here, but I do believe my second grade teacher knew the affect this book would have on us. She knew we would pay attention in her absence and upon her return great her with enthusiasm and relief. She was right! Now anyone even thinking about becoming an early Elementary School teacher should think well on investing in this book. It may one day prove invaluable to your state of mind when leaving your class to a stranger!

I have read this book to my students on the first day of school and they absolutely loved it!The students were able to identify with the characters and explain their actions and we came up with a great list of class rules to follow throughout the year ...or fear the wrath of Viola Swamp....