Review of Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick

Authors

Marc A. Agee, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Publisher

Disney/Hyperion

City

New York, New York, United States of America

Date of Publication

2018

ISBN

9781484750223

Date of Review

2019

Disciplines

Education | Library and Information Science | Modern Literature

Keywords

Children's literature, reviews, substitute teachers

Review

In Dear Substitute, a young girl processes the effects of an unexpected substitute teacher on the normalcy of her routine through a series of notes. An endearing and clever presentation of a sort of rite of passage for school-age children, the book encourages the reader that it is okay when things are different sometimes, and that it’s okay to not understand why. While not an entirely original idea – the story of the unfamiliar new substitute is a fairly standard trope in children’s media – this book still provides a meaningful and encouraging lesson to the reader. Brightly colored and relatable to school kids, it could be very useful to read in a classroom setting. The language is well-suited to younger readers beginning to read by themselves with some help, but the art work is somewhat strange, leaning toward more abstract images that may be hard to discern for these younger readers. RECOMMENDED.

Marc Agee, Centennial Library

Recommended Citation

Agee, Marc A., "Review of Dear Substitute by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick" (2019). Library Intern Book Reviews. 239.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/intern_book_reviews/239

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