Miss Lazar Is Bizarre

April 1, 2013

Gr 1-3-There's plenty of kid humor in the ninth book (HarperCollins, 2005) in Gutman's series. It all begins when A.J. goes to the bathroom and the toilet overflows. Fortunately, the school has Miss Lazar, the superhero of custodians. Although the cause was crayons stuffed down the toilet, a rumor begins that there is a ghost in the boys' bathroom and the boys refuse to go in it until Miss Lazar assures them that they're safe. All of the superhero talk depresses the principal, Mr. Klutz, so the students devise a plan to make him a hero also. Not surprisingly, the plan doesn't work as expected when Mr. Klutz gets stuck halfway up the school wall and Miss Lazar has to be called in to rescue him with a plunger from her plunger museum, which, at the end of the book, is still stuck to Mr. Klutz's bald head. The book is silly fu Narrator Jared Goldsmith does a great job of voicing the book's silliness and fun. A worthwhile purchase, especially where the series is popular.-Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings School, Hoover, AL

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