[BOOK REVIEW] Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard

Title:  Miss Nelson is Missing!

Author:  Harry Allard

Artist:  James Marshall

Genre:  Trickery / Manners / School / Mystery / Humor

Year Published: 1977

Year Read:  1994

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Series: Miss Nelson #1

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Mischievous Behavior) 

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Miss Nelson is Missing!” is a children’s book written by Harry Allard along with illustrations by James Marshall and is about how the school’s sweetest teacher suddenly disappears and is replaced by a vicious teacher who tortures the students in room 207.  This book is surely a joy to read for children who love good humor and a good mystery to solve.

The book begins with the kids in room 207 misbehaving, especially since they got the reputation of being the worst-behaved class in the entire school.  Miss Nelson, their teacher, tried everything to calm them down, but nothing worked, so Miss Nelson decides that something has to be done to keep the kids under control.  The next day, Miss Nelson did not show up at school and the kids took this opportunity to misbehave even more.  Suddenly, a scary looking woman in an ugly black dress came into the classroom and yelled at the kids to be quiet and do their homework.  It turns out that the new and cruel teacher is none other than Miss Viola Swamp and the longer Miss Swamp stayed at the school, the more miserable the kids got as Miss Swamp forced the students to do so much hard work.  The kids then wondered what happened to Miss Nelson and whether she will come back or not.

Will Miss Nelson return back to school?

Read this book to find out!

Harry Allard has written a clever story about how the kids of room 207 learned the hard way about behaving when they are nearly stuck with a cruel teacher when their sweet teacher suddenly disappears from school.  I think it was clever about the way that the children suddenly started behaving towards the end of the book when they realized that Miss Nelson was a better teacher than Miss Swamp after they started taking advantage of her good nature.  James Marshall’s illustrations are cute as the characters have black dotted eyes and pudgy cheeks.  The illustration that truly stood out was the illustration of Miss Viola Swamp herself as she looked like a real witch with her long chin, her black dress and her striped stockings and she always had a scowl on her face everytime she looks at the children.

“Miss Nelson is Missing!” is a great and clever children’s book about what could happen if one does not behave properly and the importance of trying to obey authority at all times.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since I do not find anything unsuitable for the smaller children in this book.

* 1978 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile

* 1981 Grand Canyon Reader Award