Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster

by Debra Frasier, Debra Frasier (Illustrator)

Overview

Sage has misheard and misunderstood one of Mrs. Page's weekly vocabulary words. Her error leads to a humbling catastrophe: a momentous tragedy, in front of the entire class. Can Sage turn her vocabulary disaster: an event bringing great misfortune, into a triumph: a true success?
Anyone who has ever been daunted: discouraged or disheartened, by a mere word in the dictionary will cheer wildly: in a manner lacking all restraint, as Sage transforms embarrassment into victory in Debra Frasier's touching story of loving—and mistaking—our glorious language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152060534
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/01/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.75(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Debra Frasier's picture book, On the Day You Were Born, has become a perennial classic for welcoming new babies and celebrating families. Her other books include Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster, A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake, The Incredible Water Show, and Out of the Ocean. 
 

Debra Frasier's picture book, On the Day You Were Born, has become a perennial classic for welcoming new babies and celebrating families. Her other books include Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster, A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake, The Incredible Water Show, and Out of the Ocean. 
 

Editorial Reviews

[set star] "There are delightful surprises on every page of this charmer. It is sure to be a favorite that will be read again and again."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"This inventive picture book is a spelling book, a vocabulary book, a game book, and a costume book all rolled into one."—School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

Sage has the flu and receives her vocabulary list via a hurried phone call from her best friend, who spells all but the last word. Sage spells the unfamiliar word as best she can and compounds the problem by writing her own highly imaginative definition without the benefit of a dictionary. The hilarious error is discovered during a vocabulary bee and she is "devastated, ruined, finished." The format of this enchanting book is ingenious. Words are defined within the text and as part of the colorful illustrations. Frasier (Out of the Ocean, 1998, etc.) uses pencil and markers on notebook paper to create a complete record of Sage's vocabulary disaster and ensuing triumph. A border of sentences that Sage writes for another assignment provides a subtext that explains her emotions as the plot unfurls. There is also an addendum in the form of a "vocabulary parade Scrapbook." Even the end papers and the flyleaf are an integral part of the book. There are delightful surprises on every page of this charmer. It is sure to be a favorite that will be read again and again. (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews