Miss Smith and the Haunted Library

If you love the Miss Smith series, be sure to pick up this title - perfect for the days leading up to Halloween.

Miss Smith takes her class to the community library, just a block away from school, and, naturally, they take her Incredible Storybook with them.

When they arrive at the library, they are greeted by the librarian, Ms. Creeper. When she hears that they are on the hunt for spooky stories, she borrows the Incredible Storybook and begins to read bits from each of her favorites.

Soon, as any Miss Smith fan knows, the characters begin to come out of the storybook and fill the room. The children are simultaneously enthralled and worried, but Ms. Creeper doesn't seem to notice Frankenstein, Count Dracula, the Hound of the Baskervilles, or the frightened students clinging to their teacher.

When Ms. Creeper suddenly stops reading aloud and begins passing out cider and cookies, they realize she is not only aware, but has just started a party in the library.

Everyone is having a great time, and the characters don't seem so scary anymore as they tell jokes, play fetch with the Hound, and go on horsey rides with the Headless Horseman.

Until...the senior citizens' book club arrives at the library, and we all know what Miss Smith has to do

Pick up this Miss Smith sequel and enjoy seeing all your favorite spooky characters brought to life in Michael Garland's inimitable style, and, as a bonus Ms. Creeper has included a list of each of the spooky creatures and the book that features them.



Other Halloween books:
Halloween Rhythm and Rhyme (8 books in one post!)

National Geographic Kids: Halloween

Halloween Night: Twenty-One Spooktacular Poems

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Miss Smith and More Miss Smith

My students loved Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook (2005), so when we checked our classroom library and found two more stories from the Miss Smith series, we were really excited.

Before I go any further, I have to say that Michael Garland's illustrations make me happy! Bright, colorful, detailed, and I love the golden glow in "Under the Ocean." My students were completely mesmerized by the illustrations and scanned intently for the smallest details.

We started out with Miss Smith Reads Again! (2008) in which Miss Smith and her class come face-to-face with dinosaurs when they enter Arthur Conan Doyle's book, Lost World. They narrowly escape a T-rex, ride a stegosaurus, and locate a pterodactyl's nest.

Miss Smith continually emphasizes that they should not interact with the characters, or it will change the story. Of course, the kids interact with the characters almost immediately, lose their teacher and the book that can get them back home. When they locate Miss Smith and her incredible storybook, in the pterodactyl's nest, they scramble for home, but not before one of the children manages to steal a pterodactyl egg.

Our third Miss Smith adventure, Miss Smith Under the Ocean (2011), begins with a class field trip to the aquarium. While there, Miss Smith gathers her students and begins to read aloud famous high seas adventure stories. They begin their adventure in the pea green boat accompanied by the Owl and the Pussycat. They sail the seas and meet The Little Mermaid, Long John Silver, Captain Ahab, and Robinson Crusoe, who all pile into the tiny boat to join them. They finally end up in Captain Nemo's submarine and get a great view of underwater life.

In typical Miss Smith fashion, she senses when things are about to go too far, and quickly reads the ending of each story to send the characters back into the book. As the class "comes to," they are back at the aquarium, heading for the bus.

My students had a few questions about continuity. "I thought she said they shouldn't interact with the characters," was a constant refrain. It would have been better to leave it out completely rather than leave it hanging with no follow up - kids notice!

Both stories were entertaining and would work well for younger students as well. In fact, I would recommend using them with young readers rather than intermediate-age children, and here's why: close your eyes and envision yourself  surrounded by 25 nine and ten-year olds. Imagine that some of them are sweet and innocent and completely adorable. And imagine that others have older siblings and friends, talk about all the inappropriate videos they watch, and have potty mouths to rival the proverbial sailor.

Now imagine yourself reading aloud the title of the poem, "The Owl and the Pussycat." Can you picture the smirks? Do you hear the giggles? Undaunted, you continue to read. Most of the class is not taking the giggle-bait anyway. Then you reach the title Moby Dick. Despite the teacher stink eye directed at them, several of the boys cannot contain themselves and the smirks and giggles become snickers and guffaws. Storytime comes to a screeching halt until the ringleader is removed from the classroom.

Yeah. That happened.

Sigh.

Links to purchase on Amazon:

• Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook
• Miss Smith Reads Again
• Miss Smith Under the Ocean

Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook

Zack hopes this school year won't be like every other year - BORING!  When Miss Smith walks in the door with her spiky red hair, leather jacket, red high tops and "The Clash" button, he has high hopes.  The school day proceeds normally until...Miss Smith begins to read aloud to her class.

As she reads, the storybook characters come to life and leap off the pages, enveloping the class in a swashbuckling pirate tale.  Story time becomes his favorite part of the day and he can't wait to go to school.

One day, Miss Smith gets stuck in traffic and the principal comes to class to read aloud until she arrives. But when the storybook characters begin to leap off the pages, Principal Rittenrotten panics and runs for help.  The students begin to grab for the book, each starting a new story, which ends as the book is yanked from their grasp and a new story is started by another student.  The room, the hallways, and soon the entire school is filled with storybook characters who refuse to go back inside the book.  Zack figures out that the stories must be finished in order for the characters to return to the book, but the characters don't want to go back, so they begin a tug-o-war over the book.

Fortunately, Miss Smith arrives to save the day.

Michael Garland is the author and the illustrator of this book and his clever illustrations assist young readers with the difficult skill of inference without them even realizing it.  One of my favorite pages shows the outside of the school as Miss Smith pulls up - kids will enjoy identifying all of the storybook characters swarming around the school.

Readers will be reminded of the first time they got lost in a story because of a parent's or teacher's ability to not just read to them, but to make the story come alive.  I only get to spend 15-20 minutes of my school day reading aloud for pleasure, but this book reminds me just how important those minutes are to my students.

Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook is the first in a series of books about this adventurous, creative young teacher. You can purchase it on Amazon or check your local library!