Published by Katherine Tegen Books

Summary:  On the first day of school, there seems to be no teacher, although there’s a cup of coffee and an “impressive-looking” sandwich on the front desk.  The kids are gearing up for a day with no rules when a ruler falls loudly off the teacher’s desk.  It’s then that the students notice “Mr. S” written on the board.  “As one, the children murmured: Mr. Sandwich…”  From that moment on, the kids, under the watchful olive eyes of the sandwich, proceed with their school day as normal (with a few sandwich-y twists thrown in).  Sharp-eyed readers will notice a man outside the window dealing with a storm that first knocks a tree onto his car, then hits the car with a bolt of lightning that completely destroys it.  He finally enters the classroom, changes “Mr. S” to “Mr. Spencer,” and introduces himself as…the principal.  “And I see you’ve already met your teacher, Mr. S,” he says, indicating the sandwich.  The last page adds a final mystery, as the sandwich reveals that his name isn’t Mr. Sandwich, but a splotch of mustard on the endpapers keeps his true identity a secret.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Pretty sure this will be my back-to-school read-aloud this year.  It has the same kind of zany humor my students enjoyed in Puppy Bus (my opening selection last year), and kids will love the story the illustrations tell about the principal and his car.

Cons:  I am wracked by curiosity as to what the sandwich’s real name is.