This chapter book is told from the point of view of the class pets in an elementary school. A squirrel by the name of Twitch accidentally gets trapped inside of the school and cannot escape. He franticly searches for a way out in all of the classes and different grade levels. The class pets try to help him, while he reeks chaos on the school. ( )

Twitch, the school year squirrel, gets the ride of his life as he is chased by the principle dog in the school and spends a night locked inside. All the teacher's pet get together to see if they can get Twitch out of the school and away from the dog safely. As he meets all the animals inside the school, in the end, he was able to get out safely. ( )

I love Vande Velde's original and retold fairy tales. Her 'school stories' are fun, but don't have the same charm for me. Otoh, this will make some kids laugh so hard they'll disturb the class next door. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-4

Plot Summary: A squirrel accidentally jumps on the nose of Cuddles and a mad chase is started in the school. Twitch is stuck because the janitor left for the day and so he travels from room to room pleading with the class pets for help protecting him from the dog chasing him. It becomes a chain, where even the fish travel from room to room thanks to the dog leash getting stuck to the cart holding the fish tank. Will the squirrel escape unscathed?

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Characters:
Twitch - squirrel
Green Eggs and Hamster - hamster
Miss Lucy Cottontail - rabit
Sweetie - rat
Neon Tetras - fish
Lenore - parrot
Nancy - turtle
Angel - corn snake
Galileo and Newton - gecko
Cuddles - principal's dog, lives next door to the school

Recurring Themes: animals, teamwork

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: It was ok. I fell asleep with five pages to go, but it was well-written. It just wasn't my type of book because it didn't have enough character development and too much action.

Genre: fantasy - talking animals

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Fun, humorous book about a school yard squirrel. I read this aloud to kids I nanny for and the younger (2years old) was definitely more interesting in listening. I love the young humor it brings to a good read! ( )