Mr. Wolf’s Class, Book 2: Mystery Club: Written and illustrated by Aron Nels Steinke
Published by Scholastic
Pages: 152
Retail: $9.99
It’s a rainy Friday for the students of Hazelwood Elementary. But that doesn’t stop Mr. Wolf’s class from having a ton of fun. Randy is busily preparing for the sure to be epic birthday party at Intergalactic Pizza Castle. Abdi is trying to devise a way to retrieve his lost soccer ball. The girls bathroom might be haunted. And the newly formed Mystery Club is all abuzz about what happened to their beloved previous teacher, Mr. Greens.
But perhaps the most perplexing mystery is who or what is behind all the items that have recently gone missing in Mr. Wolf’s class. Everyone has a theory. Yet most think it’s the rats that live in the lockers that are behind the lost goods. Aziza can’t seem to find her favorite frisbee. Did the rats take that too?
‘Mystery Club’ in the second book in the Mr. Wolf’s Class series. This book, recommended for readers in grades 2-5, is an eclectic representation of what a typical public school looks like. The characters, though funny animals, are from different countries, faiths, and religions. The families that the students come from is diverse as well. There’s traditional two-parent families, a single parent, even a same sex and an interracial couple. Though with the interracial couple being made up of a cat and a dog, isn’t that an inter-species couple?
I even think that series creator Aron Nels Steinke might have a student in this book that is transgender. Randy is a girl. Yet for the first third of this book, I thought Randy was a boy. It wasn’t until the character said that they were going to the girl’s bathroom that I started to wonder if Randy might be in some sense gender fluid.
If you are a regular reader of FCF, you should already be aware that I make parents and guardians of young readers aware of topics or elements that have long been debated as appropriate for all ages. Religion and LGBTQ issues are two of the big issue topics I see under fire a lot in modern children’s literature. To say that those subjects don’t exist in society is basically acting like an ostrich with his head in the sand. But every adult that in some way cares for a child has a right to determine when and where such issues should be discussed with their little ones.
More often than not, I’m giving advisements about violence or bad language in this column. With this book, there’s none of that. But if you are expecting to see only 1950s nuclear families in Mr. Wolf’s classroom, you might need to travel back in time to 1950. Because you will not find it here. But you won’t find a soap box either!
Most everyone knows that June is Pride month. Due to the subtle nature of gender and same sex relationships, this book might be a good introduction to gay and lesbian issues with the young reader in your life. Don’t tell them to be on the look out for a gay family. Just read the book with them. If the child asks why one student has two moms, explain it to them. If not, then it’s a topic to broach for another day. The same goes for why one student wears a burka. Don’t make an issue out of it and it won’t become an issue with you child!
These are subjects that are going to come up in your child’s life whether you like it or not. I feel it’s better for the adult to be aware of it in the things their kids consume than to be blindsided by it. You all know that fateful day is going to come when little Billy or Suzy ask ‘Where do babies come from?’ Better to be prepared, right?
Now that I’ve addressed the potential hot spots for this book, let’s look at the quality of the book itself. The dialogue between the students was really rough at times. It reminded me of times I would write stories in grade school and then read them later when I got older. I was a horrible writer as a kid. I focused on goofy stuff. My syntax was all wrong. My sentences ended all abruptly.
I was afraid that maybe Steinke wasn’t that good of a children’s author. But at the end of the book, I read the author’s bio. It turns out by day that Aron Nels Steinke is an elementary teacher! So with all of the awkward dialogue, it’s not that he’s a bad writer. In fact, it means that Steinke knows his audience really well. He knows how kids talk and interact with each other and adults. And it’s often confusing and not all that polished!
I liked the way most of the mysteries came together by the end of this book. I said most. I really don’t think that the haunted bathroom situation was ever resolved. A case of too many things going on in too short of a time? Or perhaps, the Mystery Club with solve this mystery in book 3, Lucky Stars, due in stores September 3rd.
This was a charming little book that accurately reflects the average public school classroom in America and Canada. It includes some modern changes seen in today’s youth. It’s not preachy but whether Mr. Wolf’s Class is a series you wish to bring into your household is a question you need to address personally. This book might not have been perfect but it captures a modern classroom perfectly!
Mr. Wolf’s Class #2: Mystery Club debuted in print and digital formats on February 26, 2019.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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