Customer Reviews

The Teacher's Funeral : A Comedy in Three Parts

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The vernacular, lifestyle, and setting of rural Hoosier-land a century ago along with Richard Peck's flourish with hyperbole makes Russell Culver's reminiscences as an adolescent simply irresistable. I'm a sucker for these American heartland tales of yesteryear. Peck's use of history and artifacts of the period are mesmirizing (e.g. Karo Syrup cans for lunchpails); his description of the countryside, vivid. The reader sees, smells, tastes, and hears everthing as Russell and his brother Lloyd walk down Hog Scald Road. The book stuck like flypaper in my hands--I could scarcely put it down in 2 days of reading.

The humor is uproarious--you'll find yourself spontaneously erupting into loud guffaws! The storytelling is so well-crafted--so seamless; the writing, graceful and balanced. It will be savored by avid children's literature readers. Interpersed in the hilarity with poignancy is the low-key, loving guidance of Russell's father as well as his sister Tansy's high expectation and insistance that he achieve versus allow his foibles to become an excuse in the future for failure by his little brother. You will experience tears from laughter; tears from being moved by goodness and love.

And the ending--it's as fine a one as is in N. Babbit's Tuck Everlasting. ...the highest praise by me--it's just superb!

Whatever will the Newberry Committee do next year? Do they dare recognize Mr. Peck yet a 3rd time for his empassioned flair for writing these wise yarns about our country's rural life in 1st half of the 20th century? If not, then Mr. Peck earns my vote to join the late Scott O'Dell as a recipient of the Hans Christian Anderson Author Medal. He is past due.

Mr. Peck has dedicated The Teacher's Funeral to the memory of his parents. I can only begin to appreciate how heartfelt and profound the legacy of their lives have been for him; yet, by the end of the story, I know for certain how proud they would be!

Thank you, Mr. Peck, for all those immemorable characters like Aunt Fanny Hemline and the Tarboxes.

* page 40, "A Mess of Bad Puppies," The Teacher's Funeral, by Richard Peck

Here is a story told to me secondhand. Once at an official gathering of hoity-toity children's authors and the cream of the librarian crop, Mr. Richard Peck was seated at the table of a young enthusiastic librarian of young adults. Mr. Peck (whose curse in life is to be mistaken for fellow children's writer Robert Newton Peck everywhere he goes) was under the distinct impression that his books were read by reluctant readers everywhere. The librarian (who knew exactly who Mr. Richard Peck was) took great pains to explain to the author that, in fact, reluctant readers tend to avoid titles like, "The River Between Us" and "Fair Weather". Peck was astounded by that news. After all, he was the author of the wonderful "A Long Was From Chicago" and "A Year Down Yonder". Funny novels that take place in America's heartland and leave the audience wanting more. But do kids really read these books? Well, we're about to find out. With "The Teacher's Funeral", Peck has returned to what he does best. Tell amusing stories from a kid's perspective in what some might call a "simpler time". Even if you can't stand the author's dour forays into historical fiction, you'll have to admit that titles like this one really show off Peck's funny side.

As first sentences go, it's hard to beat this one: "If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it". And we're off! When Russell and Lloyd find out in August of 1904 that mean old Miss Myrt Arbuckle is pushing up the daisies and not about to start another year in their ramshackle old schoolhouse, they are nearly beside themselves with joy. Surely the school board will be unable to find a proper substitute in time, right? Surely that means that Russell can fulfill his dream of running away to the Dakotas to work on their gorgeous steel threshing machines, right? Not so much. Enter Tansy. She's Lloyd and Russell's older sister who's been doling out their meals and whoppings ever since their mother died. She's rough and tough and before you know it she's gotten herself hired as the new teacher. Leaving, I might add, Russell and Lloyd in agony. They are LIVING with their teacher now. So Russell schemes to escape his fate, the students of the class learn far more than they'd expect, and not one but three suitors all start vying for Tansy's hand. It's a year that turns out to be anything but dull.

Peck's grasp of Indiana turn-of-the-century vernacular is unbeatable. In "The Teacher's Funeral" he's really at the top of his form. Adeptly, the author combines a couple mysteries here and there with humor, suspense, and a whole heaping helpful of historical facts. Want to know what a 1904 racing car looked like? Or where most Indiana residents got their toilet paper? It's all here, baby. In fact, the historical notes in this book are so slyly worked in that kids may often find themselves scratching their heads in confusion. Russell mentions that if Tansy got married then she would have to quit teaching. There isn't any debate about this or even a challenge to it. And here I was, a 26-year-old reader, wondering why it was the case. It took me an embarrasingly long time to remember that married women once did not work, under any circumstances.

Will kids like this puppy, though? I think so. But only some. Really, I suspect that "The Teacher's Funeral" is one of those books that would work best if it's read aloud to a class of kids, one chapter a day. As for those kids that are assigned it, I doubt they'll hate it on the same level that they come to hate "Shabanu" or "Kira-Kira". Still, this is pleasurable reading. Not something that should be assigned. In short, some kids will definitely enjoy the practical jokes and lovable characters that pop up in this puppy. For others, it may strike them as a deadly dull affair. But I liked it and I've little doubt that you'll like it too. I represents a fine frolicksome novel that'll have a cadre of fans cheering for it as the years go by. A winner.

Richard Peck treats us with another down-home tale from the midwest. This one takes place exactly one century ago, in 1904 Indiana, "when automobiles began to burn up the rural byways. The year airships like boxkites began to darken the skies, though they hadn't found our patch of sky yet."

Russell Culver's sentiments run from ecstasy to despair when he learns that dreadful Miss Myrt, the schoolteacher, has succumbed to a sudden heart attack just before the beginning of the school year. No sooner is Miss Myrt laid to rest in the Balm of Gilead Cemetary than it becomes clear that her successor is going to be Russell's seventeen-year-old sister, Tansy, and all hope for closing the "Jailhouse of School" is dashed.

Miss Tansy proves to be a formidible and adept new schoolmarm, and Russell's dreams of escaping to the wheatfields of the Dakotas are the only thing that keep him sane. She is determined to prove herself worthy of a preliminary teaching credential and tolerates none of the hijinks that her brother and his pals might attempt to put in her way.

There is no shortage of suitors for the pert young teacher in these rural parts. Most promising is Eugene Hammond, a city slicker from Terra Haute who makes his entrance into town crashing his eight-cylinder "Bullet No. 2" racing car with the Culver family's buggy, sending the spinster Aunt Maud into a ditch. Mr. Hammond subsequently showers lavish gifts for the classroom upon Miss Tansy, all of which are inscribed, "Compliments of The Overland Automobile Company; Terra Haute--Indianapolis."

In the backdrop of this hilarious saga is the understated wisdom of O.C. Culver, Russell's Dad, a widower, who always seems to have a greater understanding of what is going on than his fifteen-year-old son had ever suspected. His warmth and depth of character is reminiscent of Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

This is a warm and refreshing read that will make you laugh out loud. Richard Peck is such a thorough researcher of the time period about which he writes that you can be assured that all the details, sentiments and nuances are authentic.

The title alone ("A Teacher's Funeral") may induce a number of school-weary kids to pick this book up, what with the demise of teachers being a subject of schoolyard songs even when I was a kid. The book is, however, the opposite of mean-spirited: it is a sympathetic, almost hymn-like story of rural Indiana at the turn of the 20th century. The plot is simple: after the switch-happy Miss Myrt shuffles off this mortal coil, Tansy (the narrator Russell's older sister) becomes teacher to a rag-tag bunch of kids. Oh the horror! My own 11-year-old's eyes grew wide at the idea of being under the thumb of a sibling all day long. To buoy up the narrative there are a lot of what you might call "hijinks" - setting the school privy on fire, a buggy accident in which an old maid aunt ends up with her skirts around her head, that sort of thing.

I thought at first this might all be too mild for my adventure and action-seeking son. But we read it out loud to each other, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Richard Peck goes for a kind of Mark Twain vibe - folksy, humorous, and above all affectionate. He really likes his characters, even when he is making light of them. Peck's genius as a writer comes not from a screenplay-like imagination (he's not all plot twists and peril) but from his ability to convey strong and interesting characters. Everyone - even old Aunt Maud - turns out to have hidden depths, even though the book is really very very funny (!).

Sorta makes me wish Peck would try his hand at something for the over-30 crowd. He's a wonderful writer and the book is a great addition to the recent literature for older kids.

I ordered this one back in July, and have been on the edge of my library seat wating for it! Well worth it, too--once again, Richard Peck delivers the type of story we have come to expect, and to appreciate, from him: human, real, funny, wry, and honest. My only complaint: Not enough! Seriously, for the age group he was targeting, the length is just right--but for middle-aged librarians... well, as usual, I put down anything "Peckish" with a sigh of bliss for the tale, and regret for its end. Please, more, and soon!

When the teacher at Hominy Ridge School, a one-room school in rural Indiana, suddenly dies, the school is in jeopardy of closing. This is fine with fifteen-year-old Russell Culver, who wants to quit school to join a team of harvesters working the new steel threshing machines. Russell's dreams of quitting school are dashed when his older sister, Tansy, takes over as teacher. With the required eight students enrolled, Tansy takes her new role seriously. Faced with vandalism, snakes, fires in the privy, and stolen supplies, Tansy not only manages to keep the school open, but also manages to change the direction of Russell's life. Peck's humorous portrayal of life in rural Indiana at the turn of the twentieth century is a pleasure to read. Grade 6 up.

I read this novel for a book report. I definetly enjoyed this book! It is filled with humor to keep you laughing thoughout this book. I think that many kids can relate to this book, wherein they do not want to start school again, and don't intencionally want there teacher to become sick, but every kid has dreams. There is a twist...with one of the main characters! I think that this should be a book that you read in your literature circles.

After his school teacher dies just before the start of school, Russell Culver hopes his forlorn one-room Indiana schoolhouse will close forever. Tragically for him, not only is a new school marm hired, it's his overbearing, spatula-wielding older sister, Tansy, who is bent on Russell fly right. Peck once again piggybacks us back in time on a narrative full of outrageous hyperbole and subtle humor.

Easy, fun and laugh-out-loud read that captures a time period of American history - life in a one room schoolroom. His characters are very likable, warm and up to all sorts of tricks. It has friendship, family ties, romance and adventure. I love the colloquiallism - as another reviewer mentioned, Peck is like "a modern day Mark Twain." It's a great read, and one of the books for Virginia Young Readers for 2006-07. I loved it (plus I'm also a teacher)!

"The Teacher's Funeral" by Richard Peck is a hilarious look at a boyhood in 1900s Indiana, specifically, life at the one-room schoolhouse where 15-year-old Russell longs to escape to Dakota. When the old schoolteacher Miss Myrt dies, Russell and his little brother Lloyd hope that the school board will decide to close the school, but to his horror, his older sister Tansy becomes the new schoolmarm. The novel is punctuated by the yearly cycle of harvest and pig slaughter, the arrival of steel threshers, and the newfangled automobile. Peck lovingly captures life in the country, close to nature. There are some truly hilarious turns of speech, such as "the water wasn't crotch-deep on a dwarf," and "you could've heard a bee belch." This should be a hit with young readers (9-12), who will identify with the boys' longing for a school-free year and their attempts to keep it that way. A loving look at a bygone slice of the American heartland