Commentaire descriptif

First published in 1977, this perennial favourite about the misbehaving students in Room 207 will still strike a chord with children. In the opening scene, spitballs are stuck to the ceiling as paper planes whizz through the air. But when their good-natured teacher, Miss Nelson, doesn’t show up to work one day, replaced by a vile substitute named Miss Viola Swamp, they begin to regret their ways. The narrative effectively builds in suspense, coyly suggesting that “maybe something terrible happened to Miss Nelson.” Diction effectively differentiates the behaviours of the two teachers. The mean substitute is strict and authoritative—“she rapped the desk with her ruler”—while Miss Nelson speaks “in a sweet voice.” Cartoonish full-colour ink and wash illustrations capture the chaos of the classroom and deftly contrast the gentle blond-haired Miss Nelson with the witchy substitute teacher with black frizzy hair and long black fingernails. Readers paying close attention will cotton on to the secret identity of the mean substitute, which is subtly revealed through visual clues. This excellent back-to-school read-aloud encourages children to reflect on appropriate classroom behaviour.