Frankie Zapper and the Disappearing Teacher.
Linda Rogers. Illustrated by Rick Van Krugel.
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excerpt:
It made Mr. Smith furious when Frankie took on his daydreams. He even tried shutting the curtains, but Zapper could see through cloth. He could dream his way through metal. When they talked about the Iron Curtain in Social Studies, Odie looked at Frankie, glassy-eyed and lost in his thought, and he knew he could cut through anything, like a diamond drill or a singer with a high squeaky voice.
Frankie Zapper (so named because of his ability to zap spit-balls) has a talent that only his best friends, Jen and Odie, know about: he can make wishes come true. Magic happens when Frankie starts to dream. But Frankie is plagued by mean-spirited, cruel Mr. Smith, a home-room teacher with no heart or sense of humour. Mr. Smith is every child's worst nightmare, and he especially doesn't like dreamers or philosophers like Frankie. The plot thickens when Frankie reveals his magic talent before his whole class by wishing Mr. Smith would disappear - and he does. Mr. Smith is turned into a parrot ( a nasty one at that).
Recommended.
Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian at Niakwa Place School in Winnipeg.
Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is
maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
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