MR. TANEN’S TIES RULE!

Third time’s not the charm for the Principal with the world-class cravat collection. Mr. Tanen may own 998 “wild and crazy” ties, but on Career Day, he goes for the unbuttoned-collar look, as students and faculty switch roles—just before a Federal Official pays an unscheduled call. Accompanied by a comically dismayed Superintendent, the inscrutable, neatly coifed Mrs. Harding takes notes as she sees children washing windows, serving tuna-and-peanut-butter tacos for lunch, leading classes and finally, welcoming her into the tie-strewn Principal’s office. But not to worry: given a note excusing him from Gym, Mr. Tanen hurries in to explain it all, and Mrs. Harding declares Lynnhurst School the winner of a national award. Gaily colored neckties flutter through a set of splashy watercolor school scenes, but can’t rescue the sketchy, predictable plot. Still, aside from the episode’s two predecessors and the likes of Stephanie Calmenson’s Principal’s New Clothes (1991), principals rarely get good press—and the students here do respond to the mini-crisis with calm common sense. (Picture book. 6-8)