Independent Reading Level: GR Level K
Awards: N/A ( )

Title: The Gym Teacher From The Black Lagoon
- Author: Mike Thaler
- Illustrator: Jared Lee
- Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
- Date: 1994 (year published)
- Pages: 32
- Type of Book/Genre: Picture Book, Fiction
- Short Summary of the Plot: The story begins with there being a new gym teacher at the school, and there are a lot of rumors about him. For example, that he is hairy and is nicknamed Coach Kong (he is depicted as a big, green, scary monster in the illustrations). He makes his students run all around the world, you have to lift his truck, he works the kids too hard and makes them throw up, he sets the rope that you are climbing on fire, play tag with glue, play baseball with actual bats, etc. After going through all the rumors, the kids meet the gym teacher and he is not a big scary monster, then they play basketball and end up liking gym.
- Tags/subject headings that describe the content: rumors, school, gym class, gym teachers.
- My response: I think this story can be used as a good teaching moment to not put stock into rumors, and to make your own judgements.

So funny! The boy is filled with terror towards is new teacher that he has yet to meet due to all of the rumors he has heard about him. The puns were witty too. ( )

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