TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY
written by Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Thor Wickstrom
Dutton Children's Books 2003

Teacher Appreciation Day was tomorrow.
And everyone in Mrs. Shepherd’s class knew exactly
how they would show their appreciation to Mrs. Shepherd.
Everyone, that is, except . . .

Maybella Jean Wishywashy.
Maybella couldn’t seem to make up her mind,
no matter how hard she tried.

“Eeny meeny miney mo.
So many choices,
I just don’t know.”

About the Book

In this follow-up book to School Picture Day, Mrs. Shepherd’s class is featured once again, but this time a different student takes center stage. Maybella Jean Wishywashy, who is the queen of indecision, just can’t decide how to show her appreciation to Mrs. Shepherd on Teacher Appreciation Day. While the other students bring Mrs. Shepherd apples to say “thanks,” Maybella brings Mrs. Shepherd some of EVERYTHING from the grocery store—including pineapples, artichokes, and lobster! When the other students pick dandelions for Mrs. Shepherd at recess time, Maybella gathers some of EVERYTHING for a nature surprise for Mrs. Shepherd—including bugs, frogs, and snakes! Amidst all the chaos Maybella creates in the classroom, she still manages to “save the day” at the end of the story when “EVERYTHING” is the perfect answer.

Reviews

Publisher's Weekly . . . A rhyming, read-aloud refrain and zany artwork showing Maybella's antics pack the punch in this tale of the eventual victory of the nonconformist.

Booklist . . . The cartoonlike illustrations match Maybella's liveliness and reinforce the dual messages: appreciate those teachers and be independent.

School Library Journal . . . While the misfit who saves the day is a much-used plot, it has surefire appeal. Maybella's solutions to her inability to make decisions are silly and far-fetched, which just adds to the humor. Plourde and Wickstrom teamed up for “School Picture Day” (Dutton, 2002), an equally implausible but pleasant story about Mrs. Shepherd's class, and this tale should be just as popular.

Learning Activities

· Even before this story begins, illustrator Thor Wickstrom gives readers hints about the personality of the main character, Maybella Jean Wishywashy. Look at the cover, endpapers, and inside title page. How does Thor Wickstrom let the reader know what makes Maybella unique? Then look at the front matter (cover, title page, dedication page) of some other picture books—What sort of hints do they give readers about what will happen in the book? About the personality of the main character? About the book’s setting? etc.

· This book is fun to read aloud with its repetitive “Eeny meeny miney” parts. Each of these stanzas rhymes, and so when reading it aloud pause before the final rhyming word so that young listeners may “fill in” the final rhyming word each time. Then try making up your own “Eeny meeny miney” poems about making decisions—what if you (or Maybella) had to decide where to sit, which book to read, which friend to invite over, what pet to get at a pet shop, etc.

· This book is a follow-up to School Picture Day also illustrated by Thor Wickstrom, but featuring a different main character from Mrs. Shepherd’s class, Josephina Caroleena Wattasheena the First. You’ll notice that Josephina appears in the Teacher Appreciation Day book too. Josephina’s special quality in the first book was that she was Ms. Touchy Feely and took things apart to see how they worked. Look throughout Teacher Appreciation Day to see if Thor Wickstrom gives any hints or suggestions that Josephina is still a “touchy feely” character. How so?

· Write a thank you note to a favorite teacher. What do you appreciate about that teacher? Be specific in your note.

· School Picture Day and Teacher Appreciation Day were challenging books for Thor Wickstrom to illustrate because he had to keep track of a class of 23 students and make those students look consistent throughout the books—with the same hair-dos, wearing the same clothes, etc. Try drawing THREE pictures of your class doing different activities (e.g. at snack time, at recess, on the bus, during gym time, at the library), and as you do so try to make each student look consistent throughout each of your drawings. Compare your three drawings. Did you do a good job of making all your classmates look consistent/similar in each drawing? How difficult was it?

Story Behind the Story

Lynn, wearing a green shirt (her favorite color), and with her "Irish setter mix" dog, Maggie.

After writing School Picture Day, I was excited about the character, Josephina Caroleena Wattasheena the First, and I wanted to create another story with her as a main character. But when I gave the story to my editor to read, she said that we didn’t want to “dilute or diminish” Josephina as a character. She thought it would be best if Josephina was a shining star in ONE book—School Picture Day. But then the editor suggested that it might be fun to have a different main character in Mrs. Shepherd’s class step forward to be the main character in another book. I LOVED the editor’s suggestion and the idea that EACH student in a class is a “shining star” on any given day. And so Maybella Jean Wishywashy was born as the indecisive character in Teacher Appreciation Day. (And I’ll let you in on a little secret—sssssshhhhhh—don’t tell anyone! After having many requests to have a boy be the main character in one of the Mrs. Shepherd class stories, I’ve written a story called Pajama Day featuring a boy with a problem. That book will be published in 2005—oooooooh, such a long wait! But I’ve already seen Thor Wickstrom’s sketches, and they are VERY funny!)

A photo from Lynn's 1973 Skowhegan High School reunion which brings back wonderful memories of her school years— including this one when she appeared in the play "Oklahoma" as the character Ado Annie.

One fun part of writing children’s books is that I can slip in biographical information about myself into the books without anyone really noticing—except for me and my family. In Teacher Appreciation Day I made Mrs. Shepherd’s favorite color be green since my favorite color is green. I also gave Mrs. Shepherd an Irish setter for a dog, and my dog Maggie is an Irish setter mix (with an Irish setter mom plus a dad who was a couple of other breeds—with the result being that Maggie looks like a black Irish setter).

I dedicated Teacher Appreciation Day to teachers—especially the teachers I had in Skowhegan, Maine. I believe that teaching is one of the greatest, noblest, most influential careers that anyone can choose. Growing up, I absolutely LOVED school and my teachers. I received a top quality education in Skowhegan schools that has served me well throughout my life and has opened many doors for me. In fact, one of my all time favorite gifts that I ever received was my Skowhegan High School yearbook from 1973, the year I graduated. You see, my house burned down many years ago and all of my yearbooks were lost in the fire. Several years ago, my husband Paul surprised me with the 1973 Skowhegan High School Yearbook. I was thrilled—it was as if someone had given me back a piece of my past.