"Elizabeth noticed right away that her new teacher was a troll." She may go by the lovely name of Miss Turtledove, and the parents and principal may think she's pretty and pleasant, but Miss Turtledove's skin is the color of pale spiders and her hairy knuckles scrape against the floor. Elizabeth and her classmates know they're in trouble when their teacher chows down on all the chalk, gnaws on the desks, and sends kids to the principal's office for looking too neat during recess and not putting the letter x in the word shoe. Something has to be done before Miss Turtledove finishes eating all her students' backpacks, and starts in on the students themselves!

Bug-eyed, panicked children are in hilarious contrast to the oblivious adults in this over-the-top tale of scary teachers and thwarted intergenerational communication. Vivian Vande Velde and Mary Jane Auch capture the frustration of being too small to be heard, and too smart to ignore what's right in front of your very eyes, in a wonderfully witty book that will speak straight to the hearts of young readers everywhere. (Ages 5 to 9)--Emilie Coulter