My Teacher Flunked the Planet
My Teacher Flunked the Planet by Bruce Coville (Juvenile science fiction)
I bought a used copy of this book a couple of weeks ago, because I had very fond memories of it from my childhood. This was one of those books that I never owned, but which I regularly checked out of the library to re-read. Now that I’ve read it as an adult, I’m having trouble remembering why.
This book is the fourth in a series. My local library only had this one, so although I read each of the other books at least once, this is the one I loved, and the only one I really remember. It’s clearly intended for very young children, and I think it would be entertaining for the 6-8 crowd.
I’d forgotten how young I must have been when I liked this book, although looking back now, it makes sense. I very clearly remember that I had read this book many, many times before I ever found out what the word “flunked” meant, which shows how young I was. (For all my fellow word nerds, I’m pretty sure “flunked” isn’t a Canadian word, but it enters our vocabulary around the time we start watching American after-school specials set in junior high/high school. The Canadian word is “failed”, and to be even geekier, it’s not something you can do to someone–you fail the course, the teacher doesn’t fail you.)
Anyway, this series is great for younger kids, teaching them some environmental and social responsibility as well as telling them a sci-fi adventure story. I very clearly remember that this book was the first time I’d heard the radical idea that many people in the world were starving, not because humanity can’t produce enough food to feed them, but because we make political and economic choices to let them starve. The book has other important messages, but that one, and the story’s staunch anti-war attitude, are the ones that stuck with me.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Bruce Coville, My Teacher Is an Alien
