Dr. Toughlove writes about the hilarious book, “The Teacher From the Black Lagoon”, written by Mike Thaler and illustrated by Jared Lee, for her August 2022 column.
Since students and teachers will be returning to school at the end of August, Dr. Toughlove thought it would be the perfect time to review the book “The Teacher from the Black Lagoon” written by Mike Thaler and illustrated by Jared Lee. Mike Thaler has written over 50 books and according to his website, has been called “The Court Jester of Children’s Literature.” Jared Lee’s colorful illustrations serve to enhance Thaler’s words in highly humorous ways.
During her early elementary school years, Dr. Toughlove can remember being worried about who her teacher would be, and more importantly if she (most if not all of the teachers were female back in the dark ages), would be nice. The nameless protagonist in this story has the same concern. When he arrives at school, he learns that his teacher’s name is Mrs. Green, and at that point, his over-active imagination takes over. He imagines that Mrs. Green is really green, has the face of a dragon, has big teeth and a long tail. If that isn’t scary enough, she scratches her name on the blackboard with her claws!
Once he has a vision in his mind of what she looks like, things go from bad to worse. One of the protagonist’s classmates, Freddy, has the audacity to throw a spitball. He is unceremoniously burnt to a crisp by Mrs. Green’s ferocious breath and becomes a pile of aches on his desk. Dr. Toughlove doesn’t want to give the entire story away, but let it suffice to say that “The Teacher from the Black Lagoon” presents a series of hilarious events involving the imagined Mrs. Green and her students. Jared Lee’s colorful and captivating illustrations depict the protagonist’s wild imagination in highly entertaining way.
If you are the adult who is reading this story aloud, don’t even try not to laugh – the words and the pictures are so hilarious that keeping a straight face is next to impossible. This book makes a perfect read aloud and is also a gem for emergent readers to read independently.
If your child/student likes “The Teacher from the Black Lagoon”, Dr. Toughlove would suggest that you explore some of the other books in the Black Lagoon series. Two of Dr. Toughlove’s favorites are “The Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon” and “The Author Visit from the Black Lagoon.” You really can’t go wrong with any of them – they are all laugh out loud funny.
“The Teacher from the Black Lagoon” is recommended for children aged 4-8. Copies are available at Queen Anne’s County Library.