Mr. Klutz Is Nuts! (My Weird School Series #2) by Dan Gutman, Jim Paillot (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Never before has school been this mixed up—or this much fun!

Principal Klutz was hanging upside down from the school flagpole! He kissed a pig on the lips and painted his bald head orange! And now he wants to bungee jump off the roof of the school dressed as Santa Claus!

Barbara L. Talcroft - Children's Literature

Book #2 of the "My Weird School" series introduces early readers to the eccentric principal of second-grader A. J.'s school. A. J.'s teacher, Miss Daisy, (in Book #1, Miss Daisy Is Crazy!) had her own methods of teaching the class reading and math—pretending she didn't know how to do either—and now it's Mr. Klutz's turn to try his hand at motivation and incentives. He gets off to a false start by giving A. J. a chocolate bar before he's done his assignment, but soon catches on and has the whole school doing millions of math problems and writing a million spelling words by promising outlandish stunts like kissing a pig on the lips or shinnying up a flagpole to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance." The kids love the chocolate party they get as a reward, too, but they finally realize that Mr. Klutz has gone too far when he wants to bungee jump off the roof of the school dressed as Santa Claus. Neatly turning the tables on their weird principal, the astute second-graders offer to read a million minutes only if he won't jump. The thirteen chapters are short, the reading is easy, and there's a chuckle on nearly every page. Jim Paillot's goofy but endearing black-and-white illustrations add to the fun to be had during silent reading or while sharing this amusing tale with a friend. Look out for Book #3! 2004, Harper Trophy/HarperCollins, Ages 7 to 9.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3-This humorous story features a nontraditional but goodhearted principal who skateboards to school and constantly challenges students to strive for academic excellence. When second-grader A.J. gets sent to the office because he didn't do his homework, Mr. Klutz gives him a candy bar as an incentive to try harder. Then the man proposes that if all students in the school complete one million math problems he will throw a chocolate party with all the treats they can eat. Other challenges follow, as Mr. Klutz promises to climb the flagpole if the kids complete Election Day essays, dress up in a turkey costume and ride a pogo stick down Main Street when they compile a list of 100,000 spelling words, etc. Although the children hold up their end of each bargain, they begin to worry about Mr. Klutz as his promises get weirder and weirder. Eventually, they tell him that they will stop learning unless he stops his crazy antics. Black-and-white cartoons add to the silliness, and the large print and simple vocabulary make this an easy chapter book that will satisfy newly confident as well as reluctant readers who ask for funny books.-Kristina Aaronson, Henniker Community School, NH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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