Mrs. Lane Is a Pain!

My Weirder School #12

by Dan Gutman, Jim Paillot (Illustrator)

With more than 30 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading!

For A.J. and the gang at Ella Mentry School, weirdness and fun are all part of the routine. In this twelfth book in the outrageously funny My Weirder School series, Principal Klutz hires a talent coach, Mrs. Lane, to help the kids prepare for the Ella Mentry School talent show. But what will A.J.'s talent be? And what happens when Mrs. Lane tries to steal the show?

Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, School

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2014

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner for my son. He can recite a lot of it from over exposure but he really loves these books and that makes me a happy mom.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teach students about midevil words before reading this book.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bo...
Interest Level
Grades 2 - 5
Reading Level
Grade level Equivalent: 3.9
Lexile® Measure: 610L
DRA: 38
Guided Reading: P
Genre
Comedy and Humor
Theme/Subject
Elementary School
School Plays, Shows, Concerts
Reading Quiz Programs

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The students at my school LOVE the My Weird School series by Dan Gutman, so I thought I would try one and see what they are like. I chose one at random - I think that was a mistake and I should have started the series closer to the beginning. This book is part of the My WeirdER School series, and the book has a ton of references to the original series. I can see what they like about the book. It is very relate-able as it takes place at a pretty ordinary-sounding elementary school, and has many mentions of "line-leaders" and "door holders" and other things that elementary kids concern themselves with. I did think that the main character was a bit on the rude side, but the book did have good humor. This is definitely nothing to push a kid out of their comfort zone, but certainly seems like a great series for building confidence. I will have to try one of the earlier books out to see how it compares!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. Lane Is A Pain! by Dan Gutman its a book about a boy that is having a talent show in his school.The book is about a boy named A.J that is having a talent show in his school but he is not sure what he could do.I did likes the book because its funny and interesting.I would recommend this book to my friend from L.A.

[Kathleen Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, sometimes I read kid's books. I'm so glad I discovered this series because listening to these books is a joy and at times really funny. A great book for kids (and for those of us who are kids at heart).

[Jozef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is funny and crazy. It gets kind of catchy at the end during the talent show.

[Oscar Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Lane is a Pain is a great book for kids who are entering the fifth grade. In this review, I will explain why I think this book is great for kids. What I thought about the book and why I recommend this book.
I think this book is great for kids that are entering the fifth grade. Here is a reason, I think this book is great because it talks mostly about kids humor, many kids will enjoy this book for that reason. It also shows things that may happen if you were confronted with the same situation the kid's face which is not knowing what talent you have and being insecure about it.
When I read this book I thought it was going to be a boring and long book but if you read into the book you can find things you may really like. For example, what I liked from the story was how all the children didn't know what to do in the talent show and each one of them found something the audience liked and I found that pretty interesting. I thought this book was great and it shows the troubles of talent shows, in my opinion, I like this book.
I recommend this book if you are a child like me going into the fifth grade you may find things that are humorous, interesting and it may even help you if you have trouble and face the same conflicts the children face.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Gutman understands young reader’s humor and has created a fantastic book formula to draw in even the most reluctant of readers. The My Weird School series is perfect for students to practice their reading skills with its repetitive yet hysterical narrative and story lines. But don’t mention that part to your kiddos, they might run away in fear they could learn something! A must have collection for any grade school library or classroom!

In this edition Mrs. Lane, reality-star-failure-exordinare, steps in to teach the students of Ella Mentry School how to best compete in their very own talent competition “Ella Mentry Schools Got Talent” and you get to see it live and in person! So sit back, laugh yourself silly and have some Porky’s Pork Sausages and watch the talent unfold.

[Jnase1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second and third graders at my school love these books. They like that they are funny and use words like "shut up" and "butt" as well as the exaggerated humor, some of which they don't always get. What I like about these books are the many idioms contained within each. It might be fun to make a class book about all the idioms and their meanings contained within each book...and you can also use this time, if you so choose, to address why using the words "shut up" and "butt" in school are frowned upon.

[Anne Behler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Weird School Books are always a win with my son, and I enjoy them too. There are jokes that hit for both elementary schoolers and adult readers. Anything that keeps my 2nd grader reading is a win with me! :)

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another funny installment, this time its a talent show.

[Puppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs.lane is a cheater pant

[Kaytee · Rating 5 out of 5]

there was a contet and it had to involve ham then after they did all there tricks it was time to hand out the trohe and the winner was mrs.lane but it had to be one of the kids

[April Suter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mrs. Lane shows up at Ella Mentry School and plans a talent show.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book.

[I Contain · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are hilarious and very relatable to students. Nothing you'd want to teach a comprehension lesson with, but very funny.

[Jenn Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMG! I don't know why I never read any of the Weird School books before. This was so funny! I have to read more.

[Alison Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this. I mean it is for little kids but I read it anyway. I guess it would be good for a little kid.

[Sarah Muang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book because it was funny when Mrs.Lane didn't
even do the talent and she won so the funny part was when
the mom's,dad's and even the kids were chasing Mrs lane.

[Jaden John · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was funny

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Porky's Pork Sausages return!!! I can't wait for even more pig themed puns!

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is silly. Mrs. Lane was not in the talent show and she won the talent show!

Charlotte
Age 6

[Anna Salvesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book because Mrs. Lane got hired because the Ella Mentary School was doing a talent show and she's been on a lot of TV shows. Then she got fired because Mr. Klutz realized how much money it costs. Then the owner of Porky Pork Sausages (Mr. Porky) said he would give the school the money to keep Mrs. Lane and do the talent show. She's a pain because she and Mr. Porky set up a whole plan so she would win the talent show even though she was one of the judges. And then Mr. Porky said "make a run for it, Penny!" because a parent yelled to stop her. She got away.

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time for the Ella Mentry talent show! This year Principal Klutz has hired a professional, Mrs. Lane to help with their talents. But what will A.J.'s talents be and what happens when the talent show gets put on tv. I will tell you, He gets stage fright. But finally he gets the guts to be in talent show. But then there is a twist that I will not tell you. I can always count on this book to make me laugh. Only thing is that the beginning was a bit boring but it was great.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of AJ and Ella Mentary school. My 6 year old is finally getting tired of these and I'm ready for a break! Cute for elementary kids, a little repetitive for adults.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, easy read. It tells about the school's talent show, from the point of view of a smart-alec kid.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

AJ’s world. I love it.

[Shameka Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

[Bailey Andrus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book to my 4th graders. Definitely had some funny parts that we all laughed at. Overall story line was all over the place.

[Jessica Hampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute for a kids book