By Stephanie Calmenson
Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Even teachers have a bad day, according to Mr. Bungles. Sometimes the day starts wrong for everyone and just keeps getting worse. It all started even before Mr. Bungles got out of bed, when the alarm went off and he bumped his head. Things got progressively worse as he showered and got soap in his eye, and dripped jam on his tie. His bad luck followed him to school when his students played a trick on him, followed by the class hamster escaping.
The book is sure to get a chuckle out of 2nd grade readers as they see the oftentimes amusing situations that Mr. Bungles gets himself into over the course of one day. Children will especially like the antics of the hamster and the journey he takes Mr. Bungles on as he tries to catch him.
This book is the perfect book for teachers to use for a read aloud. Children will love the bold illustrations that are sure to capture their attention, as well as the action in the story.
This would be a great book to read to children on one of the first few days of school as an ice breaker to help children see that teachers’ lives aren’t perfect and they don’t always have days that turn out like they want to.
The author, Stephanie Calmenson, has written other humorous books such as Late for School and The Principal’s New Clothes and had a prior career as a teacher herself.