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bibliotequeish's review against another edition
As with the other books of this series, I bought it at the scholastic book fair.
And I thought it was hilarious when I would read it in class for silent reading, trying to catch my teachers eye and then quickly glancing at the cover of the book that I held high at eye level instead of flat on my desk like my peers.
And I thought it was hilarious when I would read it in class for silent reading, trying to catch my teachers eye and then quickly glancing at the cover of the book that I held high at eye level instead of flat on my desk like my peers.
kristinaray717's review against another edition
3.0
When I was in 5th grade our class got to vote for 2 of our required reading books for the year. This was one of the two that won.
I remember enjoying it enough to read ahead and finish before the rest of the class, though not enough to continue the series.
I remember enjoying it enough to read ahead and finish before the rest of the class, though not enough to continue the series.
mochomito's review against another edition
4.0
I read this as a child, and now as an adult and I still enjoyed this. Loved it more re still.
nightfalltwen's review against another edition
3.0
I totally remember reading this in Elementary school!
I can't remember if I liked it or not, but I remember reading it. The fact that I remember reading it means I will give it the star rating of liked it... because if I hated it in school, I probably wouldn't remember it.
I can't remember if I liked it or not, but I remember reading it. The fact that I remember reading it means I will give it the star rating of liked it... because if I hated it in school, I probably wouldn't remember it.
paperbackstash's review against another edition
I remember loving this as a kid. Wish I remembered the rest of it. The cover is adorable.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
I have had a rough week, and yesterday was a particularly bad day in said rough week. Don't worry, this won't be a blogreads post, I just needed to get that out as a reason to get up at 1am and read this and 'My Teacher Fried My Brains'. Coville, like many of the great authors of my childhood, is delicious, delicious junk food. These books especially are like the Sour Patch Kids my brother and I would devour until our tongues bled. They're awesome, but you can't taste anything for a week or so afterwords.
As a kid I read 'Fried' before this one, it had the catchier cover, but nothing can touch this book's deft use of piccolo in the final climax.
...So, this book doesn't have as much as I remembered. Susan Simmons makes an alarming discovery about her teacher (he's an alien!) and dares only tell class brain Peter Thompson at first, because nobody but that outcast would believe her. Actually, that's a lie. The rest of the 6th grade pretty readily believes it. For no good reason they completely believe that Mr. Smith is an alien. This is a case where Coville really let the story outpace his development of it.
Coville skimps on story development, simply hopping from one incident to another, but he does do a surprisingly good job at outlining the motivations of Duncan Dougall (the bully who is the central character of 'Fried') and the troubled home life of Peter. There are no clear details given, but you're left with a clear sense that something is wrong, especially contrasted with the happy home life of Susan. It's a good transitional chapter book for kids that slyly puts in good messages with genre conventions that will hopefully prepare kids, as it prepared me, for thoughtful science fiction down the road.
My Teacher is an Alien
Next: 'My Teacher Fried My Brains'
As a kid I read 'Fried' before this one, it had the catchier cover, but nothing can touch this book's deft use of piccolo in the final climax.
...So, this book doesn't have as much as I remembered. Susan Simmons makes an alarming discovery about her teacher (he's an alien!) and dares only tell class brain Peter Thompson at first, because nobody but that outcast would believe her. Actually, that's a lie. The rest of the 6th grade pretty readily believes it. For no good reason they completely believe that Mr. Smith is an alien. This is a case where Coville really let the story outpace his development of it.
Coville skimps on story development, simply hopping from one incident to another, but he does do a surprisingly good job at outlining the motivations of Duncan Dougall (the bully who is the central character of 'Fried') and the troubled home life of Peter. There are no clear details given, but you're left with a clear sense that something is wrong, especially contrasted with the happy home life of Susan. It's a good transitional chapter book for kids that slyly puts in good messages with genre conventions that will hopefully prepare kids, as it prepared me, for thoughtful science fiction down the road.
My Teacher is an Alien
Next: 'My Teacher Fried My Brains'
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