The Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon

by Mike Thaler, Jared Lee (Illustrator)

Overview

A bestselling Black Lagoon title—with an eye-catching new look for Trade!

It's another scary day at the Black Lagoon. . . . There's a new gym teacher transferring over from the junior high, and Hubie is worried. The junior high students say he's big, mean, and blows his whistle a lot. Will Hubie really have to run a lap around the world to pass Mr. Green's class? Will he be able to lift Mr. Green's pickup truck and climb up a rope while it's on fire? Hubie doesn't want to go to gym class anymore!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599617947
Publisher:	ABDO Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/28/2011
Series:	Mike Thaler's Black Lagoon Series
Edition description:	Reinforced Lib Bound ed.
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jared Lee has illustrated more than 100 books for young readers. He has received awards from the Society of Illustrators, the Martha Kinney Cooper Ohioana Library Association, the National Cartoonists Society, and others. He lives in Ohio with his wife and a menagerie of dogs, cats, ponies, ducks, and a few unknown creatures.
Mike Thaler was born in Los Angeles in 1936. After moving to New York City, he started his professional career drawing cartoons for adults in 1960. A children's book editor saw one of these cartoons and encouraged Mike to write for children. Since then, Mike has written over 140 children's books and has become known as America's "Riddle King." Mike says that writing and riddles are a powerful way to stimulate a child's interest in learning and creating. He is an award-winning author and illustrator and has been called "one of the most creative people in children's literature." Mike currently lives in Canby, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 3—Jared Lee's humorous illustrations have been fully animated to accompany and augment Mike Thaler's tongue-in cheek text (Scholastic, 1994) about a young boy who is worried about the rumors he's heard about the new gym teacher coming to his school. Is the gym teacher a monster? Does he play dodge ball using a Dodge truck? Does he really make you do laps around the world? The conjecture is fun and the ending is reassuring. The narrator, Joey Stack, is perfect as the voice of the boy. Interviews with the author and the illustrator provide insight into how they chose their careers and their creative processes. The CD/book set contains the audio from the DVD with and without page-turn signals, as well as both interviews. Fans of the series will enjoy this production.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA

School Library Journal

This newest entry in Thaler's "Black Lagoon" series is entertaining, even with its now-familiar formula: A child's fear is made worse as he imagines a truly awful worst-case scenario. This time, rumor has it that the new gym teacher's nickname is Coach Kong and that he makes you run laps around the world, do fitness tests that include picking up a truck (if you don't pass, your body's donated to science), and something truly chilling—square dance with GIRLS! Joey Stack does a good job narrating this tongue-in-cheek reminder of everything kids fear about gym class. The background music and sound effects add humorous touches that heighten the story's pleasure and sense of fun, complete with drum beats, gym whistles, and the occasional scream! J.C.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2010 - AudioFile