The Strictest School in the World
by Howard Whitehouse© 2006, 252 pages Level 4 (all about levels)Learn More on Amazon
It's 1894 and a pioneering young scientist named Emmaline is working on creating a flying machine. The only problem is...she's intensely afraid of being in the air. She needs an assistant, and that's where Robert "Rubberbones" Burns comes in.
So begins The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken. Set in an English village, the story follows the efforts of Emmaline and Robert, as aided by her indulgent Aunt Lucy and their butler, Lal Singh.
The group spends a summertime happily engaged in their aviation endeavors until Emmaline's distant parents send her away to St. Grimelda's School for Young Ladies, which happens to be The Strictest School in the World. It doesn't take long for Emmaline to experience the horrors that occur behind its towering stone walls and decide that she must find a way out. Many students have come to the same conclusion, but not one has ever escaped successfully. But with Emmaline's knowledge of flying machines and her cohorts on the outside who are willing to assist in her getaway, will she have what it takes to break free?
This is a thoroughly fun book and a perfect candidate for a multi-age family read-aloud. It's enjoyable on so many levels, featuring lovable and brave characters, a simple story, and humor throughout. The author takes advantage of every opportunity to play with the book, from the "reviews" on the back cover written by characters in the book, and the prehistoric pet pterodactyls kept by the school to maintain order with the students, to the names of the characters like Miss Sumfiddle, the mathematics instructor, and Miss Venividivici, the frightening Latin teacher.
The Strictest School in the World is a lighthearted book that's wonderfully suited for the end of the school year when most of our students are dreaming of their own impending freedom. And it looks like the adventures continue with a followup all ready and waiting for us: The Faceless Fiend: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, His Masked Minions and a Princess with a Butter Knife.
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