William M. Akers

Mrs. Ravenbach's Way is the first book in The Amazing Escapades of Toby Wilcox series. I love Toby, he stands up for himself, stands by his principles, is honest and fights for what is right.

Mrs. Ravenbach is the fourth grade teacher at the McKegway School for Clever and Gifted Children. The story is told mainly from Mrs. Ravenbach's point of view. She thinks she is the best teacher alive, that the children all love her, that she should be respected before parents and that she should be respected because she is the teacher, not because she has earned respect. Tobias (Toby) Wilcox is new to the school and he clearly is not the same as the other students in the school.Pages from Toby's journal are interspersed in the book so we can also see his point of view. He does not want to brush Mrs. Ravenbach's hair and he certainly does not want to rub her feet. He does not want to change his opinion on VanGogh or Beethoven just because his teacher says he has the wrong opinion. When Toby is almost expelled for something he did not do, everything comes to a head. Mrs. Ravenbach is a bully and is the kind of teacher you hope your child never gets. She is the composite of all the bad teachers out there.

As a retired teacher, I can see why students would enjoy this book, it is so off the wall that any teacher would look good compared to Mrs. Ravenbach. This book would be a great read aloud to younger children or as an independent story for Middle School Children.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest.… (plus d'informations)