December 1, 2003
De Rosier makes her debut with this small-format gift book that adapts "The Special Story of Miss Thompson" (which first appeared in Who Switched the Price Tags?
). A statement from Miss Thompson, the teacher, opens the book: "Boys and girls, I love you all the same. I have no favorites." But the unnamed narrator immediately detracts her remarks: "Teachers do have favorites and, what is worse, most teachers have students that they just don't like." Fifth grader Teddy is one of them. A rundown of his former teachers' reports reveals that he has a "poor home situation," a mother who was seriously ill and subsequently died and a father who "shows no interest." Sequential paintings show Teddy sitting on his mother's lap in a comfy armchair to read a story, then on the next page the chair is empty. The unadorned paintings resemble pleasant folk-art in their attention to simple patterns and slightly off-kilter perspectives. Yet the artwork remains rather static and wooden, a curious counterpoint to the story's sentimentality and overbearing tone. At Christmas, Teddy gives his teacher a bracelet with missing stones and a "bottle of cheap perfume." After the boy confides, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother. And her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too," she asks God to forgive her, and becomes "a different teacher." With the special attention she pays to Teddy, his schoolwork improves dramatically, and causes positive reverberations henceforth. Though it may appeal to adults who work with youngsters as a cautionary tale, this heavy-handed story sends a mixed message to children. Ages 8-up.