Mr. Wolf's Class

Mr. Wolf's Class #1

by Aron Nels Steinke

Mr. Wolf has just started teaching at Hazelwood Elementary. He wants the first day of school to go well, but he's got his hands full with his new class. Some of his students include: Margot, who is new in town and is trying to make friends. Sampson, who brought something special to school for show-and-tell. Aziza, who just wants everyone to be quiet and do their work. And Penny, who is VERY sleepy because she has a new baby brother at home, goes missing! This delightful new series captures the everyday -- and unexpected -- ups and downs of a fourth-grade classroom.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Childrens, Comics, School, Animals, Fiction

160 pages, Unknown Binding

First published June 26, 2018

Reviews

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely intended for grade school-age readers. My adult brain got very stuck on a carnivore being in charge of a classroom full of prey animals.

[Francina Simone]

Hahaha this was a delight quick read...I enjoyed the energy of this story, it was very real without need to teach any lessons, yet it taught a very big one—how important it is to acknowledge how individual we all are. (Also that teachers who steal staplers suck LOL)

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kid loves each one of the kids and Mr Wolf too. Sweet book focused on pretty everyday concerns.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread #1
I enjoyed this A LOT, I changed my rating from 4 to 5 💖 such easy read, such wholesome and comfortable.

Such fun ride. Reminded me of my happy first grade year thousands of years ago........

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the first day of school, and Mr. Wolf welcomes his eighteen students to his classroom. Like some of the students, I was overwhelmed by all the new names, but I was also underwhelmed by all the little, boring details of a day in an elementary school. With all the chaos and jumping around, I just couldn't find a toehold to climb the hill of caring. And it bored me when we spent several pages just following a kid with an attention deficit as she wandered around the hallways, like resorting to a crusty old Family Circus gag but without the dotted line squiggling around the panel.

And what's up with the weird apartheid system where mice as large as the other students attend school but much smaller rats -- fully dressed, mind you -- live in the cracks of the school and scavenge for food?!?! One teacher even uses them as a scapegoat to cover for his stealing!

I see no need to continue with this series.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: [Prologue] -- Chapter One. Wake Up -- Chapter Two. Hold It! -- Chapter Three. Palindromes -- Chapter Four. Peace and Quiet -- Chapter Five. Survey Says -- Chapter Six. Someone Is Missing -- Chapter Seven. Rats! -- Chapter Eight. A Close Call -- Chapter Nine. Show and Scare -- Chapter Ten. An Empty Seat -- Chapter Eleven. Knock! Knock!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love graphic novels, especially for our 2nd/3rd graders who want to read them by the dozens.

I love that this is a school story, and that the teacher is new just like the kids are.
I love the pieces of the story that REALLY happen every day; lost and found, etc.
I love that there's a little graphic of each student the night before school starts... what a fun thought. What is each student in the class doing right before school starts? So cute to think about the kid who stays up reading with a flashlight; the kids who goes to bed at 7pm; the kid who stays up til 11pm watching tv with his parents.

But...
...why in the WORLD is it not panic zone when a kid gets lost?
...why oh why oh why did Mr. Wolf's colleague steal his stapler? That whole scene was SO WEIRD.
...why the rats?!?!

Oh goodness. So. Many. Feelings.

And then I remember this is written for kids to love, not me. Bumping it up a bit... and getting it in the hands of a third grader I know will give me his honest review as the actual target audience for the book!

[Chance Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable graphic novel about the first day of fourth grade and everyone is nervous -- even Mr. Wolf! Despite the characters being colorful cartoon animals, the book had a realistic feel to it. All the kids are unique and have their own struggles, their own hopes, their own goals. Mr. Wolf just wants to get through the day. The school has rats, etc. I really liked the part where another teacher steals Mr. Wolf's stapler. It felt like that was in there just to appeal to adult readers, and I appreciated it.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and a wonderful addition to the classroom too. Steinke has a very perceptive understanding of children and childhood as well as the life of an aspirational teacher. The rats are the cute 'out of the norm' addition and there is a light -heartedness to the story yet also some unshrinking truths too. I'll be interested to see how this develops.

[Parker J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at work because the kids were loving it and omg what a pleasant surprise. This was hilarious and delightful

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great graphic novel about the first day of school. You meet a brilliant bunch of kids and their brand new teacher. This made me chortle and the teacher in me saw a lot of my teaching life in this. I think I’ll be hunting down the rest of the series now!

[Mary Alice]

Incredibly cute! Also such an accurate portrayal of everyday life in an elementary school 😂 kids being smart & hilarious with wacky stuff happening every second

[Sainaz Farzana Kazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love it when a colourful children's graphic novel/comic makes me feel like a kid again <3

[Shaelynn Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel about the first day of fourth grade!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

@kidlitexchange #partner —— All opinions are my own.

My daughter is 7 and really got excited about reading graphic novels last year. It can be a little tough to find some age appropriate options to share with her and her friends. This would easily make the list. The story follows a classroom as they begin their first day of school. Mr. Wolf is even a new fourth grade teacher and experiencing his very first day as well. They encounter and deal with different personalities, new schedules, and even a few mistakes along the way. Mr. Wolf is just as guilty. He loses a student for part of the day!!

This is an incredibly relatable graphic novel. Students will recognize several actions and routines that they follow in their own classroom or school. The chapters are short and are told from a few different perspectives. It’s definitely full of kid humor. One of my daughter’s favorite parts was the rats who would sneak into the classroom to take lunches. She also liked the unique show-n-tell item that one student brought to class. The illustrations are superb, colorful and very playful. The characters are just as great and were made up of a variety of different animals. There were a couple learning moments where it explained what a palindrome was and briefly touched on several varieties of shells.

Overall, this will be a huge hit for young elementary readers. It would also be a great book to read aloud during the first week of school or keep in a classroom library as a quick reading option. Looks like this will be the start to a new series. The sequel is set to come out early next year and will follow the same classroom.

[Dest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a comfortable sitcom feel. I could almost imagine that familiar studio audience laugh track after each punchline.

I liked how well it established the characters. By the end of the book, they felt familiar and I was looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Though all the characters are animals, some read as Muslim (Aziza wears a headscarf, another student is named Abdi).

Another thing I liked is that it was funny in a realistic, sweet sort of way. For example, one kid is taking a poll asking if the other students prefer ice cream or farts with genuine enthusiasm about making it a Venn diagram to include kids who like both equally.

I think this will be popular with third and fourth graders.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty fun book about a class full of kids and their teacher Mr. Wolf. It is the first day for many and there is a lot of adjusting for the kids (and the teacher who at times has no idea what to do). I had quite a bit of laughs though I wasn't always a fan of the kids and how they acted. Who the hell thinks sleeping is a good idea? And that one boy to who Aziza said Boys are stupid should just understand that he had this coming for him with how he acted and how he didn't listen to Aziza telling him she wanted quiet. I did like seeing the school, the lessons, and I love that bunny girl who is so enthusiastic about school and having moved to this place. Many times kids like that aren't too happy but she was very delighted.
The art was really fun and I love love the style.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Wolf's class is the perfect back-to-school comic for lower elementary classes (and everyone above!). Mr. Wolf thinks he has everything set for the first day but of course not everything is going to go entirely to plan in his classroom of animal characters. Bathroom delimas, hurt feelings, new friendships, lost students, palindrome conflicts and Venn diagram silliness will keep the reader laughing the whole way through.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book about the first day of class. There were a few too many characters so despite them all being different animals I still got a bit muddled on who was who. It was also the teacher's first day, so we got to see him being nervous and then patting himself on the back for being teacherly.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was adorable! I'm currently stocking up on books for my classroom library and this is a MUST have!

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, fun graphic novel for kids that sparkles with authenticity.

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nails life at an elementary school.

[Jaden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im putting all the books I read at home here.

[Krystal]

I love Mr. Wolf and his class. They're just a 4th grade class trying to get through the first day of school together. Cute.

[Jessica S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would recommend to lower/middle elementary school readers.

[Aria rose&#x1f353; · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good

[McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was adorable. I could immediately tell that a teacher wrote this book before I even read the bio. The details about the students and school day were mundane but relatable and made me laugh. I think my students would like it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

good fart jokes

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

153 pages. This series is really funny and realistic. The illustrations are very good and colorful. Kids will enjoy this one. Highly recommended for Grades 2-5.

[Ishaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a adventure, in the book, there’s a part that is REALLY like a adventure. So in that part, a student named Penny, was sleepy at the first day of school. Because her brother was crying and making sounds. That’s why she wasn’t falling asleep. When Mr. Wolf’s Class was at the library, she crawled into a box and fell asleep. And then she went missing.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

just a cozy, cute graphic novel about kids on their first day of school