Mr. Tanen's Tie Trouble

by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Mr. Tanen and his ties are back! But now there's trouble. Mr. Tanen's school has run out of funds for the long-awaited playground. He needs to raise money--fast. But how? Then Mr. Tanen considers his tie collection as a moneymaker.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Money

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Maryann Cocca-Leffler of NH, is the Author and Illustrator of over
60 books for children. Maryann’s book, Janine (2015) and its new sequel, Janine and the Field Day Finish (2016), were inspired by her daughter, Janine. Together they have developed a corresponding website, www.janinesparty.com with a mission to help change public perception of children with disabilities. Other books include, A Homemade Together Christmas, Bus Route to Boston and Bravery Soup.
Now a playwright, Maryann wrote a play based on her Princess KIM books. Princess K.I.M. The Musical won a National New Play Festival in 2012 and has had sold out performances on the East and West coasts. Princess K.I.M. The Musical is now represented by Stagerights.com, a licensing agency in LA to bring the play National.

Maryann grew up in the Boston area (read Bus Route To Boston!) and attended Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she received a BFA in Illustration. Her very first book, Thanksgiving at the Tappletons’ written by Eileen Spinelli, was published in 1982 and has been re-released in 2015 as a classic. When not in her studio, Maryann is traveling, visiting schools and attending her play.

If you are interested in a school visit, please check out the VISITS link on my website:
www.MaryannCoccaLeffler.com
www.JaninesParty.com
www.PrincessKimTheMusical.com

Reviews

[Aryana Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every guy owns a tie, right? Well Mr. Tanen being the principal of an elementary school had owned over a lot of ties. But, when the school would get money he would spend it on his tie addiction. Realizing that he didn't have enough money for the school budget to fix the playground. But, trying to think of a way to make money he decides to have an auction for his ties. Having done so he had enough money to fix the school's playground. Although, he loved and missed his ties, the town got together for the opening of the playground. In the end the whole town gives back all of Mr. Tanen's ties to him.
Personal Reaction - I like this book because it has a good meaning behind it. The illustration was really well done, it helped describe the mood of Mr. Tanen being happy and excited for his school. The bright and vibrant colors helped tell the story. This book looks really new because of the colors and will help attract students attention.
Purposes:
Read aloud to K-3 children for several potential purposes: enjoyment and understanding about the story. Mr. Tanen becomes obsessed about his tie collection but realizes that he has to give back to his school because of his outrageous amount of ties he had.
Curriculum: read aloud
- discussion of reality
- narrative structure: Great to use and demonstrate letting go and starting new.
-introduction or reinforcement of character: Mr. Tanen is a round character he goes from only being obsessed about his ties and not really caring about his school. To realizing the school budget is gone because of his love for ties and buying/having so many. That he decides to start fixing things around the school. Then reality hits when he realizes that he needs to give back to his community. This helps the community realize they need to give back as well. Because in the end the town gives back all the ties they bought from Mr. Tanen.

[kayla elledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story teaches the more you give the more you get and that saying is just like "treat people the way you want to be treated" this book is great to read

[Toni Guyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute for kids. Great message.

[Jaycee Omohundro]

A great read to help students see what coming together can do for the people around them

[Maddie Scheer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal: I thought this book was really witty. It was a great story and had a cute ending. The illustrations were incredible and the pages were very full and busy with either words or pictures.
Purpose: I believe this would be a read-aloud for K2 for enrichment-related purpose. It had a great plot that would be good for exampling story structure. It also had fun illustrations and had the ability to be really reactive.

[Tammy Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed on this book was the bright color of the pictures. Another great text feature is the way some of the text is placed on the pages, like hills or waves in the ocean. This book because of the vocabulary and the issue of replacing a playground, it could be used for a math unit on money. It also could be used to discuss an auction and how that works. Not to mention the whole lesson about doing good things for others topic. My second graders are going to love this book.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Tanen is happy that they have finally raised the money for the new playground at school. But then the director has fixed many things around the school. So Mr. Tanen finds another way to get the playground.

[Marshmallowlemonade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Principal loves ties. School board says he can't wear them. School board learns to love ties. Felt like an inside joke/ story about a real person.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Tanen sells his ties to get the children a playground, but he gets a big surprise in the end.

[Natalia Santiago]

Great gift for a great principal

[Kristie Sama · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. The story "Mr. Tanen's Tie Trouble" by Maryann Cocca-Leffler is a story about a principal named Mr. Tanen and his school. The children really want a new playground but there is not enough money in the school budget to build one. The students decided to have a fundraiser but still did not make enough money. After this, Mr. Tanen really wanted to give his students what they were asking for. Therefore, he decided to take all of his beloved ties and sell them at an auction where enough money was raised to build a new playground. Even though this made Mr. Tanen very happy, he missed his ties very much, now that he only had one. At the end of the story, the townspeople decided to give Mr. Tanen his ties back because of what he did for his school.

2. I used this story as a read-aloud for my second grade class. They were very engaged in the book because of the colorful and informative illustrations. The illustrations showed a lot of expression and emotion that gave the text more meaning. The students also applied this lesson of helping others to their daily lives. The students were asked to do a writing piece on helping others and how it made them feel in the end.

3. Another book I would pair with this story would be, "Have You Filled A Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud.

4. One quote that stood out to me from this story was, "Thank you all. I have always taught my students, the more you give, the more you get. With this money, the Lynnhurst School will have a new playground!" This quote really tells the moral of the story, which is when you give to others you will usually get more in return.