The Principal From The Black Lagoon [Paperback]

Mike Thaler (Author), Jared Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993 | Age Level: 7 and up

Hubie has been sent to the principal's office, and he's scared! Does Mrs. Green really feed kids to the alligator she keeps in her office? Does she really keep kids locked in cages under her desk? Will Hubie be able to hear kids screaming for help from down the hall?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An outrageously funny series from Mike Thaler and Jared Lee showing how rumors can make a student create a monster of any teacher! Follow Hubie's imagination as he faces his comically horrific fears during at school. These stories are sure to amuse and quell fears of new experiences at the same time!

Spotlight is a division of ABDO Publishing Group. Grades PreK-4. Each Spotlight edition is printed on high-quality paper. We use the original publisher's files to adjust the book's layout so no artwork or text is near the gutter for our reinforced library bindings specifically printed for the library market. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

About the Author

Mike Thaler is an award-winning author and illustrator who has written over 140 books for children of all ages. He lives in Canby, Oregon, on a Christmas tree farm, with his son and daughter-in-law, Matthew and Tina Lee, and his five grandchildren.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590457829
• ISBN-13: 978-0590457828
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Known as America's Riddle King, Mike Thaler is the author of the popular Black Lagoon books and the Heaven and Mirth series. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and travels nationally, speaking in schools, libraries, and churches.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Principal from the Black Lagoon, March 4, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Principal From The Black Lagoon (Paperback)

The Principal from the Black lagoon

Mike Thaler wrote a book called "The Principal from the Black Lagoon",also this book was pubished by Scholastic books. This is a short book ,there are 30 pags in the book.This book is written for 5 to 8 years old I think.
The main character is Hubie,he listen's to what people say,but they aren't true.
Hubie goes to the principal's office because he did something to his teacher.
A connection that I have for this book is that I have went to the principal's office when I was little.
I liked it when Hubie was talking about what the principal did to the kids.I did not like it when he was talking bad about the principal.I liked it because it was funny.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something She's Not, April 23, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Principal From The Black Lagoon (Paperback)

In the beginning a boy had to go to the Principal's office. There was a rumor going around the school that the Principal was a monster. Doris Foodle got sent there for chewing gum and they say her skeleton head is still there with a piece of gum in her mouth, but in the end the Principal was really nice and she was not scary at all.
We think that you would like this book because it makes you think the Principal is something she's not.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor continuity., March 17, 2006

By 

The Book Reviewer from the Black Lagoon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Principal From The Black Lagoon (Paperback)

This book is the first sequel in the "Black Lagoon" series, coming after "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon." But this book's poor continuity is a serious detriment; simply put, this book makes no sense in relation to its predecessor.

In the first book "Teacher," the child (whose name, as we learn in "Principal," is Hubie) worries on the first day of school whether his teacher will be Mr. Smith (with dandruff and warts) or Mrs. Jones (with whip and wig). But Hubie is mortified to learn that his teacher will instead be the "real monster" Mrs. Green, and Hubie has nightmarish daydreams about her. Of course, in the end he finds out that Mrs. Green is actually a very nice "pretty woman," and there was nothing to fear.

"Principal" opens with Hubie being ordered out of the classroom by Mrs. Jones and sent to the principal's office. Hubie worries about the stories he's heard about the principal...Mrs. Green. He imagines Mrs. Green to be the same monster as in "Teacher," and then is surprised when she turns out to be a "pretty woman."

Why is Hubie now in Mrs. Jones' class? It would seem that this is the same school year as in "Teacher," since Mrs. Jones was a possibility for Hubie's teacher. And why is Mrs. Green now the principal?

Okay, so maybe Mrs. Green got promoted to principal in the middle of the year. (What happened to Mr. Bender?) And maybe someone else took over Mrs. Green's class, and Mrs. Jones is just Hubie's English teacher. That's all feasible. But why did Hubie not know that Mrs. Green was now the principal? Why does he go through the entire fantasy sequence again about someone he's already met? Why is there no recollection when he finally does see Mrs. Green again: "Oh, of course! Mrs. Green, my old teacher, is now the principal! How could I possibly have forgotten that?"

Furthermore, Hubie describes the sad fates that "they say" happened to his classmates from "Teacher" when they had to visit the principal, those classmates being Doris Foodle, Derek Bloom, Freddy Jones, and Eric Porter. Of Derek Bloom, for instance: "They say he wound up with the head of a dog." Why does Hubie not know all of this to be untrue? These are his classmates!

Thaler wisely abandoned the usage of "Mrs. Green" from this point on (though the next book, "The Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon" features a Mr. Green). But he should have thought things through much more clearly in this, the first sequel in the franchise.