"The Magical Ms. Plum" by Bonny Becker

I chose to review this book because it is included on the 3rd-5th grade list for the 2011-12 Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB).

The Magical Ms. Plum
Author: Bonny Becker
Genre: Fantasy
Age Level: 8-12 years

SUMMARY
Every child at Springtime Elementary hopes to be in Ms. Plum's third grade class, because there is no denying that there is something extraordinary about Ms. Plum. It's not just that she loves her students, nor even that she teaches interesting things like fencing and turban-wrapping; Ms. Plum is magical. In each chapter of this book, one of Ms. Plum's students is invited to go into her supply closet to retrieve something for her. When he emerges from the closet, an animal accompanies him. Over the course of the day, the animal helps teach the student a lesson about his character and personality. For example, Eric is taught not to interrupt by a parrot. A raven teaches Jeremy not to take such a gloomy outlook on life. Even though Jovi is shy about not knowing English very well, he learns to speak up in defense of his falcon. Each child is given a chance to improve himself. By the end of the story, Ms. Plum can sincerely say that this has been her best class ever.

CRITIQUE
This is a simple and entertaining story. The chapters are quite brief which makes it a good read aloud. I appreciated that the author addressed some character flaws that are a bit more unusual, like the girl who sees life through rose-colored glasses. As I read, I couldn't help comparing this story to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and came to the conclusion that I prefer the latter. The brevity of this story leaves little room for character development. Similarly, the solutions are unconvincing and the morals/lessons are sometimes vague. The bottom line is that while it is an entertaining read for the elementary-aged child, this book is certainly not very thought-provoking. 

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: Mild
Profanity: Mild
Sex: None
Substance Use: None
Mature Themes: None
Violence: Mild

SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-A student tells another to "shut yer trap."
-A girl refers to another as "Mindy Miss Priss" and is unkind to her because she likes pink.
-Student throws eraser bits at another child to try to get in trouble.
-Children taunt and tease one another on several occasions.
-A boy begins prying and peeking at other students' possessions.

Frightening/Suspenseful:
-Falcon dive-bombs students who begin to "fear the bird would bury its pointed beak in the back of their necks."
-Alligator threatens to attack students and eventually does grab one boy by the pant leg and attempts to pull him out of his chair.

Profanity:
-Words/phrases used include 'poop', 'dag nab it', 'shut up', and 'butt'.

Violence:
-Fifth grader gets hit repeatedly in the face by snowballs.