A DAY AT ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

TV’s Abbott Elementary provides the setting for this original story.

After discovering an acorn avalanche in her classroom, Miss Teagues realizes there’s a squirrel somewhere in the school. Now she and the other teachers have two tasks: tracking down the rodent and fixing the huge crack in the wall that’s spreading due to the acorn stash. The characters behave exactly as fans of the show would expect them to; Mr. Eddie shrieks in fear, Melissa tries to lure the squirrel out with a hoagie, and Ava plays ’90s hip-hop in the hopes that it’ll entice the creature. Readers unfamiliar with the series may enjoy the antics, but they’ll have very little context for the characters’ behaviors. The book also alternates between using characters’ first names and their honorifics and last names (for instance, the protagonist is referred to both as Miss Teagues and Janine), which may be confusing. The illustrations are vibrant, and care was clearly taken to depict the show in this new format. The school itself is identical to how it appears on TV; it even includes an effective rendering of the front of the building’s iconic mural. The character designs are accurate, incorporating instantly recognizable outfits from the series. As in the show, the cast is predominantly Black.

A fun novelty book for adult fans of the show but unlikely to appeal to newcomers.