Miss Smith Under the Ocean by Michael Garland

Miss Smith Under the Ocean Reviews

• 
  Abigail

  Miss Smith and her class go on a field trip to the aquarium in this fourth picture-book devoted to their bookish adventures. Once there, Miss Smith opens her Incredible Storybook, reading a number of tales -
  The Owl and the Pussycat,
  The Little Mermaid,
  Moby-Dick,
  Treasure Island,
  Robinson Crusoe,
  Gulliver's Travels and
  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - that transport the entire class into an ocean adventures...
  
  Although Miss Smith Under the Ocean is the fourth book about these characters from author/illustrator Michael Garland, following upon
  Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook,
  Miss Smith Reads Again! and
  Miss Smith and the Haunted Library, it happens to be the first one that I have picked up. I found it engaging, and appreciated the idea, highlighted throughout, that stories have the power to transport us, and to involve us in their adventures. I didn't love the artwork, finding it (as I often do with Garland's books) a little too flat and computer-generated for my taste, but overall I can certainly understand why some of the books in this series have been best-sellers. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about the power of stories, and of books.
• 
  Jenny

  My 6 year old daughter chose this book from the school's book fair. At first, it seemed like just a better illustrated Miss Frizzle...but then we realized that it was not at all like this. Miss Smith's amazing book takes her and her class of students wherever the book does. Under the Ocean focused on sea related stories such as Little Mermaid, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and Moby Dick. As an adult, I could appreciate the connections, as elementary students my 6 and 9 year olds didn't "get it" because they had not read most of these classic stories written for much older readers. Once I pointed out the connection of The Little Mermaid the went looking for more literary connections though! And now the 9 year old boy is interested in reading about Gulliver and the Lilliputions as well as Captain Nemo and his submarine! THAT is a good thing. GREAT illustrations!
• 
  Dolly

  This is a wonderful tale - we have read all of the
  Miss Smith books published so far and our girls just love them! We love that the class becomes so engrossed in the stories she reads that the book becomes alive to them. We also like that the author highlights different literary classics in this series. Our oldest was very interested in reading
  The Owl And The Pussycat, so I put it on hold at our local library. And then I added the others to my to-read list, since I hadn't read many of the books mentioned and they are all classics!
• 
  Dana Williams

  Since he was four, my son has always had a thing for under the sea adventures. We found this book at the Scholastic Bookfair at his elementary school and brought it home. I had never heard of the Miss Smith series before, and what made it great is that it combines many different classic stories about the ocean (Treasure Island, Owl and the Pussycat, Little Mermaid, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea) in the adventure.
  
  Because of this book, my son became more interested in reading longer chapter books. We were able to find the "Great Illustrated Classics" series that is the original text with black and white illustrations every other page or so, which helps him focus when the stories get slow. So, a big thanks to Michael Garland for helping us make that leap!
• 
  Jenni Sauer

  This had a very cute concept and I liked when all the different story characters showed up. I would be interested to see what the other books in this series are like.
  
  But something also felt off as I read it, some sort of a disconnect like something was wrong that I couldn't quite put my finger on...
• 
  Sharla Bazen

  Genre: Fiction / Children's Picture book
  
  Unique feature: Miss Smith's books are exceptionally fun for students to see and make the connection that books can really come alive as long as you really are reading. When you are so involved with a book and it really comes alive - THAT is when you have discovered the power of reading.
  
  Grade level suggested: K-3
• 
  Shelby Miller

  I think students would find this book interesting because the characters dive into other stories and get to experience the settings of the stories. I was expecting this book to include more content about the ocean and its sea life, but it was still an interesting story to read.
  Topics: aquarium, ocean, journey, imagination, magic, field trip, popular tales/books.
• 
  Dave

  This reminds me a lot of Magic School Bus with some elements of Inkheart thrown in for good measure. A beloved teacher shares a read aloud, and the class is transported into the story in real life. This would definitely be one to build some background for as many other stories are mentioned. It’s a neat story, though.
• 
  Meghan Edwards

  A fun story that introduces many classic pieces of literature to children in a fun manner.
• 
  Britnee Troumbley

  Fun story, but the pictures are amazing!!!
• 
  Sandra Acacia

  I like the way this book introduces other books to kids. Also that they are all books written in the 1700's and 1800's. Hopefully they will read them .
• 
  Amy

  2.5 stars. This book is a little tough to rate. The kids seemed to enjoy it to a degree, but only because I was able to explain a little about the stories Miss Smith read to her class. My niece and nephew are nine and five respectively. They don't know what
  Moby-Dick is, or what
  Robinson Crusoe,
  Gulliver's Travels,
  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea or
  Treasure Island are. When they heard the name Nemo (as in Captain), they both thought of Nemo (as in Finding). The literary references were just outside of the kids' scope of experience.
  
  Not that that's a bad thing. My nephew was intrigued by this Robinson Crusoe character, and he was interested in Long John Silver. That's good, right? Maybe someday he'll hear those characters' names again, and will pick up Robinson Crusoe and/or Treasure Island and read them. My niece wanted to know all about Moby-Dick and the giant squid from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, so maybe someday she'll find the ambition to read those books.
  
  For me though, it's not just that the literary references were far above the kids' heads. It was that this story wasn't really very cohesive. It sort of read like, "and the owl and pussycat appeared in a pea green boat, and then this huge white whale breached right next to us, and then we found the Little Mermaid, and then, and then, and then..." Where's the story, here? I guess the story is to be found in the books that these characters truly inhabit, but at least now the kids know that these stories exist.
• 
  Karen

  Miss Smith, that awesome red-headed, red-shoed teacher, reads again, and this time characters from "sea stories" come to life. Starting with "The Owl and the Pussycat", so that Miss Smith and the students have a boat, of course, Miss Smith wastes no time in conjuring the whale that eluded Ahab. The marvelous Miss Smith reads through so many adventures and the class meets so many characters, but it is the visit from Captain Nemo that makes me jealous. What I would give to bring the Nautilus to life! Clearly, Michael Garland loves books. He makes me want to go back and re-read every one of those classic tales.
  
  As wonderful as this story is, it is the completely brilliant, slightly manic illustrations that breathe life into this book. My son, at four, is too young to understand the literary allusions, but he can understand what is happening on each page because the illustrations are so absolutely perfect.
• 
  Cindy

  In true Miss Smith fashion, story time is never boring. Miss Smith takes her class on a new adventure as they visit the aquarium. As she reads to the class they go on an adventure under the ocean. She reads from a variety of stories from The Little Mermaid to Moby Dick. Life is always a great adventure when Miss Smith reads. Children love to hear the story and the illustrations are beautiful.
• 
  Shelli

  I love the librarian that makes reading magical for her listeners. The adventure brings the classic sea story characters to a young readers comprehension level. Great conversations adults can have telling more background info about some of the names mentioned in this book. Names like Captain Ahab, Robinson Crusoe, and Gulliver.
• 
  Karen Arendt

  Miss Smith's storybook is at it again. Miss Smith reads from her story book and collects story characters into their boat. While as each character is introduced and the character's problem resolved, there seem to be less plot or flow to the plot in this story. Still, the illustrations are a bold and colorful as ever and children may just become interested in one of the stories as a result.
• 
  Melanie

  Miss Smith reminds me of Ms Frizzle on the Magic School Bus series. Instead of a school bus taking them places, she reads from her Incredible Storybook, and the stories come alive. They go on adventures of the sea with classics such as The Owl and the Pussycat, Moby Dick, Gulliver Travels and more. Introduces kids to classic sea novels in a fun way. Bright and captivating illustrations!
  
  
• 
  Brenda Pritchard

  older preschoolers--> school age children; narrative skills, print motivation, phonological awareness, vocabulary building,
  
  This book is about kids who visit the aquarium and the teacher's fantastical adventure with aquatic animals.
  
  This book is very wordy, which is why I suggest it to be for older preschoolers with longer attention spans
  
• 
  Andrea Day

  It wasn't bad. I was expecting a story about a boy's field trip to the aquarium (as in a more non-fiction way, like The Magic School Bus) It's more of a overview of some classic sea tales. The story was a little disjointed, and I'm not sure if the all of the literary references would be understood by children. It's ok though. Maybe I'll need to read more of the Miss Smith books to get it.
• 
  Angie

  I like his other stuff better. Too much of this would require explanation. I mean ... I guess I liked the white whale addition to the story but really? Do we need to be explaining Moby Dick to the picture book crowd?
• 
  Jen

  Miss Smith loves reading to her students. When she does, the stories seem to come alive for them. In this nautical adventure, the students run into the Owl and the Pussycat, pirates, the Little Mermaid, Captain Nemo and more. The vibrant colors in the illustration add to this book.
• 
  Megan Phillips

  This book could be read on the first day of school in order to get students excited about reading in your classroom. Reading can take you to a place you never expected to go, and students need to know that books are there for them to provide this to them.
• 
  Shaley Dunn

  An amzing book about Miss Smith. She is a teacher that, when she reads, her stories come to like. Throughout this book, all of the adventures the class goes on relates to other books. This would probably be a read for atleast a fourth grader.
• 
  Leslie

  In this installment, Miss Smith's class takes a trip to the aquarium and discovers characters from The Owl and the Pussycat, The little mermaid, Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.