Mrs. Dole is out of Control

Mrs. Dole is out of Control by Dan Gutman

Citation: Gutman, Dan. Mrs. Dole is out of Control. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2008.

Plot: A.J. is in second grade, and his class is about to move up to third grade. The problem? Ryan's mom, the new PTA president Mrs. Dole, is going overboard. Ryan's mom is staging a huge graduation ceremony, fireworks, petting zoo, caps, gowns, and all. Add into the equation a special visit from President Bill Clinton and a Blue Angel flyover and you have a recipe for disaster. On top of the overboard Mrs. Dole, who is always bursting into tears because her son is growing up, A.J's teacher Mrs. Daisy is pregnant. Moving up to third grade is going to be harder than it looks.

Review: I've been teaching a lot of 5th grade lately, as you can probably tell by the last few titles. 5th grade is interesting, as I get a lot of kids reading these books and then a lot of kids reading Harry Potter. It really is an interesting mix in one class. A lot of kids are really into the My Weird School Daze series, and I decided to give it a try. It is an easy read, probably targeted more towards 3rd and 4th graders because the protagonists are 3rd graders. However, I'm finding a lot of 5th graders find them hilarious and they really relate to the subject matter. I personally observe a lot of my 'late-bloomers' reading these books, and a lot of boys really like them. I'd try and steer them towards a higher reading level book if possible, but similar with some Roald Dahl classics, some younger tweens are finding these books a comfort zone that they like to visit once in a while.

Ages: 8 and up

Series: My Weird School Daze series

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