| Title | : | Miss Smith and the Haunted Library |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0525421394 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780525421399 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 32 |
| Publication | : | First published August 20, 2009 |
Miss Smith and the Haunted Library Reviews
-
This was cute. Apparently the teacher has a magic book and while you are reading it the characters jump out of the book. To get them back in the book, you have to finish the story. I enjoyed all the different characters from other stories coming to life. Also the grumpy seniors coming for their book club was funny. At the end of the book you find a list of the books the characters came from. The art was good and unique. I would recommend this for ages 6 to 10 😊
-
Miss Smith has a book called the incredible Storybook. I think this is why Zack loves Miss Smith best. They take a field trip to the local library as I suppose their school doesn't have a library, which would be sad. As they are reading from the scary stories in the book for fall, all the strange characters jump out of the book. My nephew would love this. He is always saying "I was this character was real real" His latest obsession is Frankenberry and he wishes he could hang out with Frankenberry so badly. His eyes look so sad to think he can't. Frankenberry, if you didn't know, is one of the 3 ghouls on a book of serial. He is frankenstein and Strawberry. Did you know they made a rap? We found it. Now the nephew wants a stuff animal of Frankenberry. His obsessions are very interesting.
Anyway, so Dracula, the Queen of Hearts, Frankenstein, the Jabberwocky, the wicked witch of the west, captain hook and the headless horseman to name but a few mingle in the room with the children. Luckily, they are nice and they can all play together and the kids have fun. Which in a sense is what reading a book is. Our imaginations make all these stories read and our minds play with them.
I thought it was a fun book. A great one for the Halloween season. The niece gave it 3 stars while the nephew gave it 5 stars for the concept of the characters jumping out of the books just like his heart desires. We'd have robots, monsters, slimer and Mr. Men all over the house if he had that power to name a few. -
Eh, not my favorite children's library story...but not too bad. I liked how the book characters became less scary when they came out of the storybook as "ghosts," but I was unsettled by the assumption portayed in the story that the approaching senior citizen book clubbers would be unsettled by the book character "ghosts."
-
I saw this on goodreads while looking up halloween books, and I almost passed it up, but I decided to hit want to read anyway. My library had it, so I thought I'd read it. I was going to read this yesterday, and save the better-looking books I checked out closer to halloween, but as I picked it up and looked at it, I thought it would be a nice adventure book, and I like the idea of a library adventure, so I decided to save it for today.
I didn’t like the animation; it looks like modern animated movies, which I’m not a fan of.
I liked the drawings on the wall of the classroom, of the ghost, witch, wolf and pumpkin. That added a nice touch.
The library looked like a haunted house, I’m not sure why. It isn’t supposed to be scary. also, the library and houses are situated weirdly in the grass.
I don’t know why the teacher is so freakishly thin and tall.
I did think it was strange that they went all the way to the library to have a story read by the librarian, when the teacher could have read it. also, because it’s the teacher’s book, she should know all the stories, not the librarian finding one.
I appreciated the illustrations on the page where the librarian is reading the story. The characters really seemed alive; light was in the eyes of the librarian reading the story, as the book came alight. I love the design on the Incredible Storybook.
And the glowing magic coming from the book as the headless horseman came alive. The action of the horse and the lighted jack-o-lantern really brings the character to life. The children’s faces are very expressive and add to the story.
The Hound of the Baskervilles looked more like a rabbit. The childrens faces were very animated and cute, particularly the boy who’s bending over, looking straight up at the hound.
The werewolf was too similar to the hound.
The jabberwocky looks like an insect.
‘The Headless Horseman gave horsey rides and the kids lined up! Someone brought out a ball and played fetch with the Hound of the Baskervilles. Dracula told jokes. The giant gently picked up some kids& lifted them high in the air.’ Aw!
The seniors’ book club consisted of an elderly black man and woman, and a white man. Then at the door, there’s a whole group of people, that looks like a mob. It’s nice to actually have a title on their books: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee. It’s a nice touch including stuff like that.
I love this! they have to finish each of the stories for the characters to go back into the book. I wanted to see them actually finish the story. That part was rushed and skipped over. It said he quickly finished the stories, and then the book club rushes into the room. It would have been nice to read the last page of the stories, and then to see them one by one go back into the book.
I loved the covers of the books they ended up checking out.
The jabberwocky is peeking around the library! Then shows up at the school window. How did that happen?!
It was a fun adventure, and yet I still wanted more of one. Or more to happen with the storybook characters. I began to appreciate the animation more after they got to the library.
I like the titles at the end of the book, which shows the different stories used in this story.
I think kids would enjoy this, and the pictures, and make them interested in the dif stories the characters are from. I also think it would make them appreciate libraries and reading more, because it makes it look like a fun adventure.
This book would make a good movie!
Looking back over the story, I looked at the drawings again to catch details I hadn’t while reading it. like captain Hook’s neckcloth and shirt sleeves peeking out of his jacket. They seem to have the same movement and texture of real cloth, so that’s a really good detail. However, some pages just had white backgrounds. It would have been nice to see detail of the library. -
Booklist July 2009 (Online)
Grades 1-3. Garland recycles the plot of Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook (2003) but adds some new faces. The leather-jacketed teacher lends her magical storybook to librarian Virginia Creeper, and, as before, all sorts of recognizable characters literally leap up from the pages as the class looks on in glee. The literary cast, ranging from the Headless Horseman to the Hound of the Baskervilles, party in the library until the senior citizens’ book club shows up, whereupon all are sucked back into the storybook. Bright, opaque colors, canted perspectives, and crowded compositions give the art in this feel-good-about-reading tale plenty of energy.
Horn Book Guide Spring 2010
Miss Smith takes her class to the town library. As blue-haired librarian Virginia Creeper reads snippets from Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook, the characters come to life, first scaring everyone, then joining them for a party--until the senior citizens' book club arrives. Garish digital pictures in Halloween colors illustrate the thin story.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2009
When Miss Smith takes her class to a spooky old library, the kids are dubious; they get downright anxious when librarian Ms Creeper reads a few characters out of Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook: the Hound of the Baskervilles, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dracula, etc. Fright turns to fun when Ms Creeper passes out cookies and cider. Garland's third Miss Smith outing is more fizzle than anything else, however. The target audience's familiarity with any of the bad guys not in a Disney movie is tenuous at best, their lack of context rendering much of the tale meaningless. It's rare for books about the magic of reading to be themselves magical, and this, alas, is no exception. (Picture book. 5-8)
School Library Journal July 1, 2009
Gr 1-5-One fall day, Miss Smith takes her class to the public library to meet the librarian, Virginia Creeper. The scene is set as they enter the building, which looks a bit like a haunted house. The librarian reads spooky stories from Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook, which brings the characters to life. Soon the children are surrounded by frightening figures such as Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Captain Hook, and the Jabberwocky. They enjoy themselves so much that the youngsters forget what time it is and then must rush to finish each story so the characters can go back into the book. In all the chaos, it seems one story was overlooked. So far, Zack is the only student to notice a creature lurking nearby. Falling leaves and pictures of ghosts, pumpkins, and witches complete the autumnal scene. Halloween can be inferred, but it is not mentioned by name. Each page is full of clever details, and the characters have unique characteristics, from the librarian's bright purple hair and dress, to Miss Smith's stand-up red hair, to the book characters playing out their roles. The students in particular are expressive. One page shows them with their mouths open while the Headless Horseman looms above. The story captures the joy of reading and is sure to be a hit.-Lori A. Guenthner, Baltimore County Public Library, Randallstown, MD Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. -
When Miss Smith takes the Incredible Storybook with the class to the library (which looks like a haunted house) one dreary fall day, you know something wild and wonderful is going to happen, and it does. Unfortunately, this book is fairly predictable if you've read the other 2 Incredible Storybook stories. So for me, the story was kind of dull. However, I loved the librarian, Virginia Creeper, and the illustrations, colorful and filled with interesting details. I liked the humorous touch of the senior citizens arriving for their book discussion clutching copies of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Garland provides a list of all the books whose characters appeared in the story, for kids who want to read more. Not bad, and it could be a fun read at Halloween time.
-
This is a wonderful story that brings scary creatures alive (somewhat akin the the
Time Warp Trio story,
Summer Reading is Killing Me! but in a less scary way). The class goes to the library for storytime and the librarian, Ms. Creeper, introduces some of her favorite scary creatures from Miss Smith's "Incredible Storybook." Thirteen books are also listed, the original tales from whence these creatures came. This a great story to read aloud and is perfect for Halloween. -
This was a cute story with wonderful pictures. The kids in Miss Smith's class go to the library. The librarian that is a little scary reads from a book. As she reads all the classic scary characters come out of the book in the library. A vivid depiction of stories coming to life when you read.
-
An adorable picture book! I love the illustration and the use of classical creatures. Can't get over the reference sheet in the back telling you what creatures are from what stories. Makes me want to get our my copy of Brothers Grimm and read classics I haven't read too.
-
Characters come to life in books and in libraries!
-
This is just another librarian book with the theme of Jumanji but for books instead of a board game. Mrs. Smith actually looks like Mr. Smith. The children are drawn horribly, they are creepy looking.
-
I enjoyed reading this to my little brother :)
-
Really cute story
-
I didn’t like the animation. It was that new-school style that I’m not a fan of. All of the people looked weird with tiny, beady eyes that were spaced really far apart. Their noses were ugly, just these circles and ovals appearing out of nowhere with no bridge, just flat skin right above it. I did like the artwork on the wall, the picture of a ghost, witch, pumpkin and other things. They looked great and I wish all of the animal looked like those artworks. I liked the touch of Little Women out on one of their desks. The teacher definitely reminded me of Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School bus, what with being a teacher and the wacky clothing and out-there personality.
I thought it was weird how Miss Smith takes them to the library and has the librarian read to them, especially since it was her Incredible Storybook book and she was standing over her shoulder. I guess all teachers stood there doing nothing while the librarian read to the class, I don’t really remember. I guess it gave them a break, but I expected the teacher to read out of her own book. And I thought it made no sense how Miss Smith asks Virginia Creeper—what a name, sounds like a criminal in the Virginia area up to no good—for a story for this time of year, and she says she’ll find some in Ms. Smith’s Incredible Storybook. Wouldn’t Ms. Smith have known to read one of her own stories? And having two unusual characters made them kind of compete with each other. We only needed one crazy character. Virginia had blue hair, dark eyes pale skin and blue lipstick.
I liked the headless horseman holding the jack-o-lantern. I didn’t like the mad dog or Jacob Marley-who I actually thought was an old woman at first-or the hunchback. I appreciated the ghost, and the Captain Hook and the wicked witch. I thought saying horsey rides was very lame, that’s like something you’d tell a toddler, not older kids. But I did like the concept of all of the Halloween characters playing with the kids. -
In Miss Smith and the Haunted Library, Miss Smith takes her class on a field trip to the spooky library--strange things happen. At the library the class meets librarian, Virginia Creeper, who has purple hair, pale skin and high pitched squeaky voice. The class sits down to listen to a few scary tales, and the characters jump out of the book and come to life --- literally. There is a Headless Horseman, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Captain Hook, and the Wicked Witch of the West. While the party is about to begin, Zack saves the day. While Miss Creeper is passing out snacks, Zack notices one more creature is still on the loose as one story had not been read. He finishes the story and ALL of the scary characters jump back into the books until the next time.
Very cute story, with fabulous colorful illustrations. A perfect seasonal read for teacher's to read to their classes. RECOMMENDED -
Michael Garland, Miss Smith and the Haunted Library (Dutton, 2009)
Perhaps I've just missed it over the years, but I'm seeing a trend in childrens' books that I don't think was there before: the conceit of book characters coming to life when they're read about in books. I know this is at least the third time I've seen it in the last year. Maybe it's a function of my expectations (which were much lower with the others than they were here), but this was the least effective of the three. In this one, Miss Smith, a grade-school teacher, takes her class and her Incredible Storybook to the library, where she and the librarian read stories, whose protagonists materialize (Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, etc.) for a party with the kids. All must be put to rights when the Seniors' Book Club turns up, however. Cute, but rather slight. ** ½ -
Cute book about Halloween mayhem in the library. As Virginia Creeper, librarian, reads to her student visitors, the "creepy guys" of the stories she's reading begin to appear. Once all the monsters are out and about in the library, they begin to have a party. BUT, Ms. Creeper notices the senior book club approaching the library stairs, so she tells the students that they must put the mayhem away because it would "give the seniors such a fright." The kids lead the monsters back into their books by reading the last page of each tale.
Cute story. Interesting, bright pictures. BUT, when Frankenstein's monster pops out of the storybook, they refer to him as "Frankenstein," and that's just one of my pet peeves. Odd too, because they have him listed correctly on the last page which tells which tale each scary creature comes from. -
My 4 y/o daughter enjoys chilren's books with a spooky element so we read Halloween theme stories all year round. She loved that this book showcases a variety of characters in the haunting business, and that they end up being not so scary after all. I appreciate that it introduced her to characters from adult literature that she was previously unfamiliar with such as the Hound of the Baskervilles, the Headless Horseman and the Jaberwocky. They join forces with creepy characters she was already familiar with such as Dracula and Frankenstein's monster and the Hunchback of Notre Dame to comprise an All Star spooky team. This book also reinforces a message she's quite familiar with but can never be overstated, that there are all kinds of great adventures to be found in the local library.
-
I really enjoyed this book. I originally intended to use it for story time, but decided that it was a little too scary for my story time children. I am however considering it for our kidzone(ages 5-8) where I think it will work out really well.
Reasons for using it with older children:
1. A little scary for my story time (I usually get a lot of 3 year-olds).
2. A little long.
Reasons why I am using it for kidzone:
1. A little longer than your average picture book (William Joyce books excluded)
2. Content a little older
3. I am planning on using it for my kidzone in October, so it goes with Halloween.
4. Because I have been trying to use it for something at my library, and I finally found a perfect fit :) -
My son loves this book. And I love how it is exactly as I always tell my son that a good story will make you feel like you are right there with the characters. My son was not familiar with the literature characters that came out of the incredible storybook yet but it allowed for a good introduction to them and now we can read these books as well. Miss Smith is portrayed as a hip young teacher and I believe that the old seniors would not necessarily have a fright over seeing the spooky characters but because there was a party going on in the library. I read this book to my son's grade 2 class for Read-In Week and they loved it.
-
For fans of Miss Smith and her students, this is yet another adventure where characters from books come to life. This time they visit the library and spooky stories are read to them as part of a Halloween celebration. Before they know it there are monsters and vampires and ghosts, oh my! Everything from Marley's Ghost to the Headless Horseman shows up as the librarian, Virginia Creeper, reads to Miss Smith's class. But the fun has to end when the senior adults arrive for their book club meeting.
Readers of books like the Bailey School Kids will have a few laughs as they watch the creepy characters invade the library. -
Miss Smith and her class visit the library down the street and the librarian, Ms. Creeper, has shocking purple hair and nail polish (I need a new look). Miss Smith begins reading spooky stories and as she read them, characters came to life! The kids have a cookie and milk party with Frankenstein, Wicked Witch of the West, Captain Hook, Count Dracula, the Headless Horseman, and many more.
A great book for Halloween time, if you can't read a Halloween book. -
Miss Smith takes her class to the library where the librarian Miss Creeper reads a special book where classic monsters escape the pages and join the kids in the library for a frightful party. But oh no, the senior book club is here for a meeting! What are they going to do with all these monsters? A fun little story that introduced Connor to some of literature's classic villains and monsters. Fun for ages 5+
-
Genre: Picture book/fantasy
Copyright: 2009
Our librarian read this story to my students the week of Halloween and they absolutely loved it. The story is fun, bringing to life the scariest of Halloween ghouls and creatures, only to find that they're really not that scary at all. I thought it was totally fun and engaging. -
I loved this cute little story. I wish my niece had actually read it with me because she would have liked it too I think. She just seems afraid of anything that looks or sounds scary. It wasn't actually scary at all though. I enjoyed it. I think I would like to see the other Miss Smith stories too.
