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Pearl and Wagner #5
Pearl and Wagner: Five Days Till Summer
Pearl and Wagner have only five days left in the school year with their awesome teacher, Ms. Star, and Pearl is not excited about next year's teacher, Ms. Bean. Pearl imagines taking spelling tests with super-hard words, doing one hundred jumping jacks every morning, and counting backward--by sevens! Pearl announces she's going to stay in Ms. Star's class forever. But is Ms. Bean as bad as she seems?
The delightful fifth book in the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning series shows how a best friend and a new perspective can change everything.
The delightful fifth book in the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning series shows how a best friend and a new perspective can change everything.
48 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2012
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Kate McMullan
223 books153 followersKate McMullan is an American children's book author.
She is the author of the Dragon Slayers' Academy series. She is married to author and illustrator James McMullan.
She also has books published under the name: Katy Hall.
She is the author of the Dragon Slayers' Academy series. She is married to author and illustrator James McMullan.
She also has books published under the name: Katy Hall.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 30, 2019
My Review: I picked this book up because it sounded like a great one to read as summer approaches and it ended up being even more perfect than expected. It was a great story to read with young children finishing up their first year of school. This is a level 3 book with full pages of text and chapters. Munchkin had no problem with this one and really related to the story as he is counting down the days to the end of 1st grade when summer will start and he will be a 2nd grader. It also is a great conversation starter about what to expect from a new teacher and classroom, and how what you hear from other kids or think you see may not be accurate. This will be a great way to ease any fears or anxieties about going to a new classroom with a new teacher.
April 18, 2018
4/18/18 Read with Naomi & Julia
December 19, 2016
Pearl and Wagner: Five Days Till Summer is a Level 3 Transitional Reader from the Penguin Young Readers series which has a Guided Reading level of K, and is formatted just like a chapter book. This format is perfect for readers who aren’t quite ready for chapter books, but don’t want their books to look babyish. The story itself is also more involved than some of the easy reader stories at levels one and two.
As summer vacation approaches, Pearl and Wagner’s teacher, Ms. Star, takes her class to visit Mr. Hat’s students. These are the kids who will be in Ms. Star’s class next year. This visit prompts Pearl to ask who her teacher will be next year. When she learns that it will be Ms. Bean, she peeks in her classroom and immediately decides, based on the quiet class and Ms. Bean’s clothes, that she is mean. This rumor spreads through Ms. Star’s class right up until the day Ms. Bean and her class come to visit. Then Pearl has to decide once and for all whether she will brave class with Ms. Bean or stay behind in Ms. Star’s class.
There are a lot of books about the first day of school, but not nearly as many about the last, and very few at all about the question of being assigned a new teacher. This story is as appropriate for this time of year, when kids are gearing up to go back to school, as it is for the start of summer, as it deals with all the anxiety surrounding changing classrooms and getting to know a new teacher. Kate McMullan really captures the way kids see adults, and also the way kids communicate with each other about their fears and concerns. I would have liked to see some more obvious differences between the three teachers, because I think it would have been a nice way to emphasize the point that Pearl - and therefore the child reader - could do well no matter what sort of personality the teacher has, but I understand that might have been more character development than a book of this type really allows.
The publisher’s description of Level 3 readers advertises “multisyllable and compound words”, “more dialogue”, “different points of view”, and “more complex storylines and characters,” and this book includes most of those things. The story involves lots of dialogue from lots of different speakers and words like “cafeteria,” “stupendous,” and “astonishing” provide some challenges for more fluent readers who are ready to take on longer words. I don’t think we deviate very much from Pearl’s point of view, but the story has a definite point of view, which is a marked difference from some of the lower-level readers where the narrators are all third-person omniscient.
I’m a fan of R.W. Alley, and his illustrations for this book are especially charming. Pearl’s expressive face helps the reader understand her growing worries about Ms. Bean, and the other students’ faces change subtly to show how they do and do not share her concerns at different points in the story. My favorite of all the figures is probably Mr. Hat; something about a big-headed zebra in a bow tie just makes me happy. The image of all the characters pointing to Pearl as the source of the rumors about Ms. Bean is also very well done and speaks volumes on its own, even without reference to the text.
There are some cliches I could have done without - the pig whose chief concern is lunch, and the rhyming of bean with mean - but overall, Pearl and Wagner: Five Days Till Summer is a winner. Recommend it to kids who have enjoyed the Iris and Walter, Katie Woo, Zelda and Ivy, and Andy Shane series.
As summer vacation approaches, Pearl and Wagner’s teacher, Ms. Star, takes her class to visit Mr. Hat’s students. These are the kids who will be in Ms. Star’s class next year. This visit prompts Pearl to ask who her teacher will be next year. When she learns that it will be Ms. Bean, she peeks in her classroom and immediately decides, based on the quiet class and Ms. Bean’s clothes, that she is mean. This rumor spreads through Ms. Star’s class right up until the day Ms. Bean and her class come to visit. Then Pearl has to decide once and for all whether she will brave class with Ms. Bean or stay behind in Ms. Star’s class.
There are a lot of books about the first day of school, but not nearly as many about the last, and very few at all about the question of being assigned a new teacher. This story is as appropriate for this time of year, when kids are gearing up to go back to school, as it is for the start of summer, as it deals with all the anxiety surrounding changing classrooms and getting to know a new teacher. Kate McMullan really captures the way kids see adults, and also the way kids communicate with each other about their fears and concerns. I would have liked to see some more obvious differences between the three teachers, because I think it would have been a nice way to emphasize the point that Pearl - and therefore the child reader - could do well no matter what sort of personality the teacher has, but I understand that might have been more character development than a book of this type really allows.
The publisher’s description of Level 3 readers advertises “multisyllable and compound words”, “more dialogue”, “different points of view”, and “more complex storylines and characters,” and this book includes most of those things. The story involves lots of dialogue from lots of different speakers and words like “cafeteria,” “stupendous,” and “astonishing” provide some challenges for more fluent readers who are ready to take on longer words. I don’t think we deviate very much from Pearl’s point of view, but the story has a definite point of view, which is a marked difference from some of the lower-level readers where the narrators are all third-person omniscient.
I’m a fan of R.W. Alley, and his illustrations for this book are especially charming. Pearl’s expressive face helps the reader understand her growing worries about Ms. Bean, and the other students’ faces change subtly to show how they do and do not share her concerns at different points in the story. My favorite of all the figures is probably Mr. Hat; something about a big-headed zebra in a bow tie just makes me happy. The image of all the characters pointing to Pearl as the source of the rumors about Ms. Bean is also very well done and speaks volumes on its own, even without reference to the text.
There are some cliches I could have done without - the pig whose chief concern is lunch, and the rhyming of bean with mean - but overall, Pearl and Wagner: Five Days Till Summer is a winner. Recommend it to kids who have enjoyed the Iris and Walter, Katie Woo, Zelda and Ivy, and Andy Shane series.
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October 25, 2012“Pearl and Wagner: Five Days Till Summer” is about two friends who are nervous about moving up to the next grade. They are having mixed feelings because they are so excited that summer is just around the corner, but they are scared because they know that their year with their awesome teacher is coming to an end. The teacher they have next is rumored to be a mean teacher. They do not want to lose their awesome teacher and get sent to this mean teacher.
This is a good book for any youngster who is about to go through a grade transition. Many kids will be able to relate to this book because we all know that there are those nice teachers and the teachers who are a little more strict. This is a great book to teach students about not judging a book by its cover. Students will learn that you need to get to know someone before you decide what kind of a person they are.
The illustrations are great for this book. They really show how each of the characters are feeling at certain times. The pictures are fun to look at and really help the kids grasp what is going on in the story.
I loved this book. I was able to think back to my transition from first grade to second grade and really relate to what Pearl and Wagner were going through. I think a lot of kids will be able to relate to this book and it will hopefully help them get through their fear and get excited about moving to the next grade level.
McMullan, Kate, and R. W. Alley. Pearl and Wagner: five days till summer. New York: Penguin Young Readers, 2012. Print.
This is a good book for any youngster who is about to go through a grade transition. Many kids will be able to relate to this book because we all know that there are those nice teachers and the teachers who are a little more strict. This is a great book to teach students about not judging a book by its cover. Students will learn that you need to get to know someone before you decide what kind of a person they are.
The illustrations are great for this book. They really show how each of the characters are feeling at certain times. The pictures are fun to look at and really help the kids grasp what is going on in the story.
I loved this book. I was able to think back to my transition from first grade to second grade and really relate to what Pearl and Wagner were going through. I think a lot of kids will be able to relate to this book and it will hopefully help them get through their fear and get excited about moving to the next grade level.
McMullan, Kate, and R. W. Alley. Pearl and Wagner: five days till summer. New York: Penguin Young Readers, 2012. Print.
June 19, 2012
Pearl and Wagner are beside themselves with nervousness and excitement. It's almost summer! But... it's been such a great year with their teacher Ms. Star. Moving on to Ms. Bean next year sounds scary. Especially when there's a rumor going around that Ms. Bean is mean! A relatable topic for many youngsters presented in a reassuring way. Ink and watercolor illustrations by Alley depict a diverse crowd of anthropomorphized animals. This book is just right for kids who aren't quite ready for longer chapter books yet.
July 14, 2012
Very sweet book
August 3, 2012
A "Transitional Reader"
Pen & Ink + Watercolor + Pencil on Bristol
Cute illustrations that add a lot to the relatively simple text.
Pen & Ink + Watercolor + Pencil on Bristol
Cute illustrations that add a lot to the relatively simple text.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews