Substitute Creacher [Hardcover]

Chris Gall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2011 | Age Range: 1 - 6 years

The troublemaking students of Ms. Jenkins' class arrive at school one day to discover a substitute creacher has come to put a stop to their monkey business! He regales them with mind-boggling stories about his former students who didn't follow the rules: Keith the glue-eater, Zach the daydreamer, and Hank the prankster, to name a few. But even this multi-tentacled, yellow-spotted, one-eyed monster's cautionary tales about the consequences of mischief-making can't seem to change the students' wicked ways until he reveals the spookiest and most surprising story of all: his own.

Chris Gall's vibrant artwork leaps off the page with a dynamic comic book aesthetic that will grab both parents and monster-loving kids!

Editorial Reviews

Review

* "Combines humor and a touch of magic.... certain to provide more than a few laughs."

(Kirkus Reviews, starred review )

* "This is a delicious little shocker of a picture book that ought to whip... crowd[s] of youngsters into a shrieking, laughing frenzy."

(Booklist, starred review )

"Explosive, cinematic panels; retro Ben-Day dot patterns allude to classic funnies." (Publishers Weekly )

"Colorful and catchy... [a] gleeful cautionary tale." ( School Library Journal

)

"Mr. Creacher's cautionary tales, told in rhyme, are as appealing as Chris Gall's bold, cartoonlike drawings. It's an educational horror story with a happy ending." (USA Today )

About the Author

Chris Gall is the award-winning author and illustrator of Revenge of the Dinotrux, Substitute Creacher, Dear Fish, There's Nothing to Do on Mars, and Dinotrux, a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2009. His books have received numerous starred reviews and awards including a Borders Original Voices Book for 2006 for Dear Fish and a Kirkus Best Children's Book for 2008 for There's Nothing to Do on Mars. Chris has won a multitude of awards from organizations like the Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts Magazine, and is also the illustrator of America the Beautiful, a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2004. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Product Details

• Age Range: 1 - 6 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (July 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031608915X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316089159
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 0.4 x 12.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Gall has been drawing pictures and writing stories for as long as he can remember. When he was caught drawing pictures on his desk in second grade, his teacher made him clean all the desks in the classroom. She suggested that he might be an artist someday. He won a Read Magazine Young Writer's Award in 7th grade, and that inspired him to write stories to go with his art. His artwork has been seen in almost every publication in America, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. His first book, "America the Beautiful", was a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2004. "There's Nothing To Do On Mars" was a 2008 Kirkus Best Children's Book, and "Dinotrux" was a 2009 Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL DONE STORY WITH A RATHER UNIQUE TWIST. Captivating work here folks. July 9, 2011

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Being retired now for a number of years, and having learned that it is (despite wishful thinking on the part of many) quite possible to play too much golf, I began a part time career as a substitute teacher.

I was at one time, also difficult for some to believe, a school boy myself. I felt that these facts concerning my life made me very well qualified to read and review this work. Also, when you combine these past experiences with the fact that I read a lot of books to a lot of children, and have for years, I pretty well have a good idea of what a child likes in the way of literature; especially at the age this book is targeted for. I feel you can trust me on this one folks...the kids are going to love it.

I must say that I was delighted with this latest offering from Chris Gall. Through his prose, rhyme and art he has nailed the relationship between child and teacher perfectly, and done it in a very entertaining way.

It would seem that Ms. Jenkins, the regular teacher, had to take a day away from her class and so a substitute teacher was brought in for her. The kids (who are a well rounded group to typical young scamps) are excited and delighted with the opportunity to practice their disruptive skills on yet another victim. As they are rehearsing for their day to come, the class room door slowly creaks open....the substitute teacher enters...very green with green warts, seven tentacle shaped legs, one eye in front, three in the back of his head and green pudgy hands. (The teachers light brown suit and red bow-tie went quite well with the creatures skin color though; I will say that). This was most certainly NOT your typical substitute teacher, but indeed, a "Substitute Creacher!"

After introducing himself amongst much commotion, our creature teacher makes an announcement:

ATTENTION ALL SCAMPS, ALL RASCALS, AND FOOLS!

For forty-nine years
I've visited schools.
I've collected some tales
whose lessons are grave
about boys and girls
who didn't behave.
They'll give you the goose bumps.
They'll shiver your skin.
Now pay strict attention:
It's time we begin!"

The creature then begins a series of tales of what happened to kids that simply would not behave while in school and what the consequences were. These of course are rather silly tales with silly outcomes but as the creature tells story after story the children begin to sober. By the final story the sub has the complete attention of the children and, as a matter of fact, has their complete sympathy and a room full of very well behaved children.

But that is not all. The story continues and follows the creature out to door when school is dismissed, and we find that......

Well, no spoilers here folks, but you really need to read this work as the ending is quite unique and rather unexpected.

The author has used two rather nicely done techniques in the telling of this tale. The story is told in simple language in the form of lines and captions on the bottom or top of the page. Yet at the same time, everything the creature tells the children is written in a very nicely done rhyme and comes in the form of green blobs; slime green balloons as you would find in comic books. The contrast here is very eye catching and adds greatly to the telling of this story...it is quite catchy.

The art is bold and goes from bright to dark and is quite detailed; these pictures absolutely pop from the page, and go perfectly with the text.

Some of the predicaments the kids who are misbehaving find themselves are quite funny and each outcome of a bad decision is quite just...the punishment most certainly fits the crime here.

This is a fun read and will most certainly grab and hold a child's attention. This will make a wonderful group read and should most certainly be in every class room, ore on the shelf of every child's library for that matter. I predict that we will be seeing this book around for a lot of years to come.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Chris Gall came to my daughter's school..she had to get this! May 8, 2012

By Gilda R. Cobbs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

We didn't think about getting her the book before he came, so, she could have it autographed by Mr.Gall...so, once she met him, she wanted the books!
she enjoys it quite a bit...(we ordered a couple) and even though she's only about to finish kindergarten, she can
read it on her own and loves it...
Great book! with a very nice message.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book July 21, 2012

By Mieshka

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this book. I got it intended for my 3 year old from the library. She was so-so about it but my almost 2 year old son loved it! He would listen to it every night and sit perfectly still. He loved the vivid images. My daughter, I think, would like it more if she understood the story a little bit better. I think it's just a little over her head or maybe just a little confusing for her. She did like the images and the Substitute Creacher. In a few more months she may like it more. I ordered it for my son. It's part of his nightly rotation! Very fun book!