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Confessions from the Principal's Chair
In Denver, Robin (a.ka. Bird) is in with the cool clique. They wear the same clothes, talk the same way, and pick on the same girls. But when her Mom hears about a cruel prank against a less popular girl, she isn't going to tolerate the Queen Bee behavior. Within 24 hours, she pulls up stakes and moves them both to Prairie Dog, Oklahoma. Bird is positively furious, and she's going get revenge on her hippy artist mother. In fact, revenge is the only thing keeping her going in the remote town. How she's going to get it, though, she's not sure yet.
When she goes to register at the local middle school, she's mistaken for the interim school principal. Who is Bird to correct the mistake when a prank like this will really get payback on her mom? Though she won't be able to pull this off forever, Bird's determined to make her mark on the middle school before she's found out. But life in the principal's chair is going to give her quite an unexpected change in perspective.
When she goes to register at the local middle school, she's mistaken for the interim school principal. Who is Bird to correct the mistake when a prank like this will really get payback on her mom? Though she won't be able to pull this off forever, Bird's determined to make her mark on the middle school before she's found out. But life in the principal's chair is going to give her quite an unexpected change in perspective.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 2006
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132 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
January 4, 2016
Very unrealistic, but it's a cute, short read
August 19, 2018
booktalk:
Living in Denver, 8th grader Robin aka Bird is finally part of a cool clique of girls who call themselves “the 6-pack”. They wear the same clothes, talk the same way, and pick on the not-so-popular girls. Bird doesn’t actually enjoy being mean, but in order to keep her place in the 6 pack she is expected to participate in some pretty horrible antics against any girl seen as a loser. When Bird’s Mom hears about a particularily cruel prank that the 6 pack pull against a girl named Marcy, she just isn’t going to tolerate this kind of behavior from Bird. Within 24 hours, she pulls Bird out of school and announces that the two of them are moving to Prairie Dog, Oklahoma, an extremely small town that doesn’t even have a Starbucks much to Bird’s dismay.
Bird is positively furious, and determined that she’ll never forgive her mother from moving her away from her friends, and her new-found popularity. In fact, anger is the only thing keeping her going in the remote town.
When her mom offers to buy Bird some new clothes for school, Bird is still so angry that instead of choosing jeans and cute tops, she picks out business suits, the type that a grown woman, a lawyer or a banker, might wear. She doesn’t want to make any new friends at this new school and she believes that showing up looking like a dork in a suit will definitely keep any of these small town kids at bay.
Bird is also tall for her age, and has taken acting lessons for the past couple of years, she’s become so good as a matter of fact that her drama teacher back in Denver believed that Bird might have a possible future career as an actress.
So when she goes alone to register at Thomas Jefferson middle school, wearing a suit and makeup, and looking ten years older, and she’s mistaken for the new interim school principal, Bird sees this as the perfect acting opportunity, and the perfect opportunity to get even with mom. Now she’s suddenly finds herself in the principal’s chair, facing a snoopy secretary, kids in the lunchroom who are rebelling against the horrible food, a coach who would rather watch soap operas than work, and a troubled girl named Serenity who reminds Bird of Marcy, the girl she used to pick on back in Denver...
Living in Denver, 8th grader Robin aka Bird is finally part of a cool clique of girls who call themselves “the 6-pack”. They wear the same clothes, talk the same way, and pick on the not-so-popular girls. Bird doesn’t actually enjoy being mean, but in order to keep her place in the 6 pack she is expected to participate in some pretty horrible antics against any girl seen as a loser. When Bird’s Mom hears about a particularily cruel prank that the 6 pack pull against a girl named Marcy, she just isn’t going to tolerate this kind of behavior from Bird. Within 24 hours, she pulls Bird out of school and announces that the two of them are moving to Prairie Dog, Oklahoma, an extremely small town that doesn’t even have a Starbucks much to Bird’s dismay.
Bird is positively furious, and determined that she’ll never forgive her mother from moving her away from her friends, and her new-found popularity. In fact, anger is the only thing keeping her going in the remote town.
When her mom offers to buy Bird some new clothes for school, Bird is still so angry that instead of choosing jeans and cute tops, she picks out business suits, the type that a grown woman, a lawyer or a banker, might wear. She doesn’t want to make any new friends at this new school and she believes that showing up looking like a dork in a suit will definitely keep any of these small town kids at bay.
Bird is also tall for her age, and has taken acting lessons for the past couple of years, she’s become so good as a matter of fact that her drama teacher back in Denver believed that Bird might have a possible future career as an actress.
So when she goes alone to register at Thomas Jefferson middle school, wearing a suit and makeup, and looking ten years older, and she’s mistaken for the new interim school principal, Bird sees this as the perfect acting opportunity, and the perfect opportunity to get even with mom. Now she’s suddenly finds herself in the principal’s chair, facing a snoopy secretary, kids in the lunchroom who are rebelling against the horrible food, a coach who would rather watch soap operas than work, and a troubled girl named Serenity who reminds Bird of Marcy, the girl she used to pick on back in Denver...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2011
This amazing book, "Confessions from the Proncipals Chair" by Anna Meyers is 199 pages of comedy. It starts out when Bird (a.k.a.- Robin) moves to a new town away from her 5 friends. She is very upset, she in her way, protests to her mother. When they go shopping for new clothes Bird picks out a couple of siuts. She writes a fake note saying she was kiddnapped and this woman wasn't her mother, it was just because she wasn't acting the way Bird wanted her to. But then, the sheriff finds sthis note, and arrests her mom, until it was proven that Bird was her daughter. When she gets to her school, she goes to the offiice and says, "Hello, my name is Robin Miller," which, just so happened to be the name of the new principal that was supposed to be coming 2 days later. So, Bird ran the school for 3 days. Taking advantage of this, she breaks a couple rules, and even allows the kids to have a water balloon fight! Of, course, she finds a new friend, and a new crush. It is very interesting how it all ends up. You should TOTALLY read it to find out what happens.
February 3, 2013
This book was so exciting. Same name with principal that 14 year old girl became a president and learned about how bad is bullying. We can learn and think in this book><
March 13, 2012
This book started off okay and got worse as it progressed.
The writing is the first two chapters was good, except there was way more backstory than I wanted to hear. I couldn't wait to get on with the part where the main character Bird gets to be principal.
Once the book got there, the writing got worse. I would really have liked to see Bird do her best to keep up the act as school principal. Instead, she acted like a first grader. Every time Bird did something stupid, I felt like the writer had done something stupid. With more effort, the author could have cleaned up those parts and made them more believable. Why didn't Bird try harder to play the part?
Also, I was really looking forward to hearing more stories from students who were sent to the principal's office. I was disappointed. There was very little of that. I learned more about the characters on the soap opera that Bird watched from her office than about the students of Thomas Jefferson School.
The ending was just stupid. Stupid and unbelievable. Unbelievably stupid. The final chapter was almost written like an epilogue. There were way too many disconnected things happening, and the author went through them so fast with no attention to pace or timing. It was a very unsatisfying ending.
The writing is the first two chapters was good, except there was way more backstory than I wanted to hear. I couldn't wait to get on with the part where the main character Bird gets to be principal.
Once the book got there, the writing got worse. I would really have liked to see Bird do her best to keep up the act as school principal. Instead, she acted like a first grader. Every time Bird did something stupid, I felt like the writer had done something stupid. With more effort, the author could have cleaned up those parts and made them more believable. Why didn't Bird try harder to play the part?
Also, I was really looking forward to hearing more stories from students who were sent to the principal's office. I was disappointed. There was very little of that. I learned more about the characters on the soap opera that Bird watched from her office than about the students of Thomas Jefferson School.
The ending was just stupid. Stupid and unbelievable. Unbelievably stupid. The final chapter was almost written like an epilogue. There were way too many disconnected things happening, and the author went through them so fast with no attention to pace or timing. It was a very unsatisfying ending.
May 29, 2018
I enjoyed seeing how being on the other side of the desk made Bird see things differently.
August 18, 2021
The voice of the character is very much in middle school, although some of the language was a bit antiquated IMO.
November 18, 2012
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
Who knew that pulling a prank could lead you to sit in the principal's chair? That's right, the chair that faces the good and mostly bad students. For Robin, or Bird, as everyone else calls her, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to her.
It all began when Bird's mother had decided that it was time for them to move again, so Bird could live a different life. This decision only happened because Bird and her friends pulled a prank on an unpopular girl.
Before she knows it, Bird and her mom are off, driving to Prairie Dog, Oklahoma. For her mom, this means a fresh start for both of them. For Bird, it means a new school with no friends in a small, unknown town. Who knew her once lenient mother could ruin her life.
Everything changed when Bird walked into the office. Oddly enough, the secretary thought Bird was the temporary principal. Well, only because Bird shares the same name with the real temporary principal who was supposed to come in on Wednesday, not Monday, and Bird was dressed in a work suit, but only to make her mother mad. So now Bird is the new principal, but only for two days, which isn't all bad since they do have the most power. So Bird decides to make the best of the two days and she begins to make big changes. She even helps out an unpopular girl, who weirdly reminds her of the girl she pulled the prank on. Turns out this moving thing may not be so bad for Bird, after all. But what happens when her cover gets blown?
CONFESSIONS FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S CHAIR is a wickedly funny, extremely unusual, coming-of-age story. Although a little unrealistic, Anna Myers takes on a unique plot and makes it her own. Before you know it, Bird learns a very valuable lesson that she herself, and even the readers, needed to know. This is the perfect laugh-out-loud read that will keep your attention until the very end.
Who knew that pulling a prank could lead you to sit in the principal's chair? That's right, the chair that faces the good and mostly bad students. For Robin, or Bird, as everyone else calls her, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to her.
It all began when Bird's mother had decided that it was time for them to move again, so Bird could live a different life. This decision only happened because Bird and her friends pulled a prank on an unpopular girl.
Before she knows it, Bird and her mom are off, driving to Prairie Dog, Oklahoma. For her mom, this means a fresh start for both of them. For Bird, it means a new school with no friends in a small, unknown town. Who knew her once lenient mother could ruin her life.
Everything changed when Bird walked into the office. Oddly enough, the secretary thought Bird was the temporary principal. Well, only because Bird shares the same name with the real temporary principal who was supposed to come in on Wednesday, not Monday, and Bird was dressed in a work suit, but only to make her mother mad. So now Bird is the new principal, but only for two days, which isn't all bad since they do have the most power. So Bird decides to make the best of the two days and she begins to make big changes. She even helps out an unpopular girl, who weirdly reminds her of the girl she pulled the prank on. Turns out this moving thing may not be so bad for Bird, after all. But what happens when her cover gets blown?
CONFESSIONS FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S CHAIR is a wickedly funny, extremely unusual, coming-of-age story. Although a little unrealistic, Anna Myers takes on a unique plot and makes it her own. Before you know it, Bird learns a very valuable lesson that she herself, and even the readers, needed to know. This is the perfect laugh-out-loud read that will keep your attention until the very end.
March 22, 2012
My comment to Scott says it all, ut I'll re-state it here.
I thought this book was... okay. It had a good message. But it was... just totally unrealistic. I was willing to suspend my belief that this 14 year old girl could strut in to the office & pass as principal, even if just for 2 days.
But even after suspending my disbelief on that, Bird's character development was almost MORE unrealistic! She starts off totally hating the idea of breaking free of Ivory's dictatorship, starting over in OK and... well, let's face it, admitting that she's been being a HUGE bully & follower. Then... on day 1 she learns her Valuable Lesson About Bullying™... before 10am. Even the most self aware person can't do such a 180 shift so quickly! Especially not a middleschooler that was the bullying popular clique type just the day before.
Now I recognize that for the plot to work, Bird wouldn't be able to maintain her position as principal for more than 2 days (more like 20 minutes at best) so she HAD to Learn Her Important Lesson™ midway through the book. She needs the power to further the lesson she learned and that can't be done if she's learning her lesson in a more realistic timeframe. And, let's face it... realism isn't the issue here.
There were parts I literally physically facepalmed. Like her sudden concern about global warming to impress Kash when she still has no idea what it is (are there actually 14 year olds in this day in age that have no idea what global warming is??)
There were some funny parts, I won't lie. But I was... unimpressed with the poor handling of an important topic.
I thought this book was... okay. It had a good message. But it was... just totally unrealistic. I was willing to suspend my belief that this 14 year old girl could strut in to the office & pass as principal, even if just for 2 days.
But even after suspending my disbelief on that, Bird's character development was almost MORE unrealistic! She starts off totally hating the idea of breaking free of Ivory's dictatorship, starting over in OK and... well, let's face it, admitting that she's been being a HUGE bully & follower. Then... on day 1 she learns her Valuable Lesson About Bullying™... before 10am. Even the most self aware person can't do such a 180 shift so quickly! Especially not a middleschooler that was the bullying popular clique type just the day before.
Now I recognize that for the plot to work, Bird wouldn't be able to maintain her position as principal for more than 2 days (more like 20 minutes at best) so she HAD to Learn Her Important Lesson™ midway through the book. She needs the power to further the lesson she learned and that can't be done if she's learning her lesson in a more realistic timeframe. And, let's face it... realism isn't the issue here.
There were parts I literally physically facepalmed. Like her sudden concern about global warming to impress Kash when she still has no idea what it is (are there actually 14 year olds in this day in age that have no idea what global warming is??)
There were some funny parts, I won't lie. But I was... unimpressed with the poor handling of an important topic.
February 26, 2014
Summery- Robin Miller (aka Bird) is in a group called the six-pack. It is the group that they pick on everyone in the whole grade. When Bird pulled a big prank her mom moved her to a small town called Prairie Dog Town. She hated it and wrote mean notes about her mom all the way their. When they stopped for lunch and the notebook fell out. A cop found it and almost arrested her mom. They found a nice place and went shopping. Bird bought only suits to show her mom in how much pain she was. She went to school and they thought she was the substitute principal. she manged to keep up the scam for 2 whole day and have a water balloon fight. At the end they had a big pizza party and a dance. The boy she liked ended dancing with one of the girls in the six-pack. Then they had a TV show about them and the boy she liked emitted he liked her.
Main charters-
Bird- She was a huge trouble maker and then ended up being the principal.
Kash- The boy bird liked. He also worked at a store in Prairie Dog Town.
The six pack- They all hung out together and they wore the same cloths and they had the same necklaces.
Setting- The setting of the book was in Denver and in Prairie Dog Town.
Conflict- She had to leave all of her friends back in Denver.
Resolution to conflict- She met all new friends in Prairie Dog Town.
Main idea- She was a principal for two whole days.
I would recommend this book because its funny and you can learn as life lesson from it.
Main charters-
Bird- She was a huge trouble maker and then ended up being the principal.
Kash- The boy bird liked. He also worked at a store in Prairie Dog Town.
The six pack- They all hung out together and they wore the same cloths and they had the same necklaces.
Setting- The setting of the book was in Denver and in Prairie Dog Town.
Conflict- She had to leave all of her friends back in Denver.
Resolution to conflict- She met all new friends in Prairie Dog Town.
Main idea- She was a principal for two whole days.
I would recommend this book because its funny and you can learn as life lesson from it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2008
Thirteen-year-old Robin "Bird" Miller has been uprooted and transplanted in the small town of Prairie Dog Town, Oklahoma. What was her mother thinking? Bird is sure that her mother has lost her mind. And she was definitely overreacting to the little prank she and her friends, known as the 6 pack, had pulled in school. Why when her mother picked her up from the Principal's office that day she had driven them straight to the store to buy moving boxes. They had left the next morning! Although Bird is sure that her mother has lost her mind and is temporarily insane, no amount of brooding, whining, crying or silent treatment will change her mind. Through a series of somewhat implausible but funny circumstances and mistaken identity, Bird inadvertently becomes the interim principal of Jefferson Middle School. What follows is two days of hilarity, psychic hotline calls, soap operas and hard lessons. Although you have to suspend your disbelief to accept the premise, I promise you'll enjoy the story!
February 1, 2008
A very good book about girl bullying.
Bird's mother pulls her out of school and moves her to a very small town in Oklahama after her eighth grade group "The six-packs" tease another girl. When Bird shows up for her first day of school she is mistaken as the temporary Principal who no one if the building has meet yet. From the other side of the Principal's desk Bird sees the other side of girl bullying and starts to feel bad about what she did before. She has two days as the principal to try and turn around the bullying at her new school and be a different Bird than she was before.
It stretch the imagination a bit because really is anyone going to mistake an eighth grader for a twenty-something. But it is a nice look inside the "in-group". Shows how maybe all the mean girls maybe don't want to be but are afraid not to be.
Bird's mother pulls her out of school and moves her to a very small town in Oklahama after her eighth grade group "The six-packs" tease another girl. When Bird shows up for her first day of school she is mistaken as the temporary Principal who no one if the building has meet yet. From the other side of the Principal's desk Bird sees the other side of girl bullying and starts to feel bad about what she did before. She has two days as the principal to try and turn around the bullying at her new school and be a different Bird than she was before.
It stretch the imagination a bit because really is anyone going to mistake an eighth grader for a twenty-something. But it is a nice look inside the "in-group". Shows how maybe all the mean girls maybe don't want to be but are afraid not to be.
February 8, 2014
I recently read Confessions from the Principal���s Chair by Anne Meyers. This book is about a girl called Robin Miller, but to everyone else her nickname is Bird. At her middle school she is at home with a group of girls called the Six Pack. Their leader is the most popular girl in the school, and everybody knows she shouldn���t be messed with. But another classmate constantly gets on her nerves and the Six Pack plan a horrible prank on her. Bird���s mom gets fed up with her bad behaviors, and decides to move. They end up in a small town in Oklahoma called Prairie Dog Town. But when she enrolls into school, she gets mistaken for the substitute principal that is supposed to arrive. This is because they share the same name. I really liked it because there was alot of unexpected twists, and a good ending.
November 14, 2009
After the incident with Marcy, Bird's mom decides they need a new start and whisks her off to small-town Oklahoma, far away from her queen bee friends who call themselves The Six-Pack. When Bird enters her new middle school and is mistaken for the new interim principal, she decides to have fun with it while she can. Along the way she learns a thing or two about bullying.
The title is enough to sell this book to middle schoolers and the humor will win them over. I found the writing to be somewhat uneven and the plot calls for major suspension of disbelief, but if you can get past that, there's a story with a lot of heart. I'd recommend it to fans of Freaky Friday or Mean Girls.
The title is enough to sell this book to middle schoolers and the humor will win them over. I found the writing to be somewhat uneven and the plot calls for major suspension of disbelief, but if you can get past that, there's a story with a lot of heart. I'd recommend it to fans of Freaky Friday or Mean Girls.
October 23, 2011
Confessions from the principal's chair was a very funny and hilarious book. I enjoyed it so much because it entertained me on occasions that I need to get away from so many things. Confessions from the principal's chair talks about this girl name Bird that moved from school by her mother because she was been a bully to this girl in her previous school. They moved to a different country also! Well, when she gets there,a lot of hilarious events start to happen when she arrives to the new town that they are living in. And during those events she starts to realize that what she used to do was very vile.
October 23, 2013
This 2006 MGer is clever and fun, even though it suffers from being overly pedagogical. It's the (unlikely) story of a 14-year-old girl moving to a new town and being mistaken for the new pricipal of her middle school. She takes the job and learns much about herself in the process, while making great strides in ending bullying, at least in regard to one girl. She also sets up a new relationship with a gorgeous young man in a romantic subplot that is even more strained than the principal one. Still, a nice example of a light, nonliterary read from a prolific and successful writer of books for children.
March 20, 2012
this book had such a different plot. it's about a young teenage girl whose mother makes her leave her whole life behind and move to a whole new place. she doesn't exactly start to fit in with the people at her new school. instead of being a student, she is mistaken for a substitute principal. and she decides to take the chance and play the principle's role for a while. she doesn't get caught for so long, but later on she meets a boy and a situation where she finally decides to reveal her true identity.
November 22, 2008
This book intrigued me. It realistically described what a 13 year old girl feels when mad at her Mom. And it was described something that I'm sure kids have dreamed of, being the principal for 3 days. Prairie Dog, OK is fictional, but it's very much what most little towns in Oklahoma are like. This book absolutely deserves the William Allen White award, and in fact I would give it a Newberry. It's a great book.
April 18, 2012
I really enjoyed this book! It was about a girl name Robin Miller, who was lack of sense of self by involving in the "gang" of girls. Then, when her mother decides to move to a small town in Oklahoma, she goes to a totally new middle school, and end up being sub-principal for two days! It was a story that also showed how we should stop bullying, and I think I also learned a lot of things from the book.
September 8, 2011
Robin "Bird" Miller and her mom have moved from Denver to Prairie Dog City, OK because Robin was picking on a girl at her old school, so her mom moved her abruptly. Robin is dreading her first day, and to sabotage it she wears a suit to school. She is mistaken for the new principal. What would you do if you ran the school for two days?
July 26, 2007
The author got the voice of this character right for the most part, but I never bought in to her getting away with being principal. Overall the story was too simplistic but I appreciated everything tied up nicely at the end.
November 6, 2008
This book is being a read aloud to our class. I really like it because the storyline is keeping my interest. I am always left wondering on the weekends what will happen when they find out that this 8th grader isn't the real principal.
February 8, 2010
This was a really cute book about an eigth grader who moves to another town. She almosts gets her mom arrested and acts like principal for a couple of days in a small town school. Then gets it filmed when the truth comes out.
June 1, 2010
I enjoy middle-grade fiction as a genre. This novel, though, is not my favorite. I think kids expect more from what they read than this novel offers. It wraps up like a 30-minute sitcom where everyone gets exactly what they want, and they all go home happy. Bleh.
August 16, 2010
It was cute. A nice story about an 8th grade girl who learns, through her two-day stint as principal, the consequences of bullying. Totally far-fetched, but still really cute. A good light read when you need one!
September 19, 2016
A very funny and imaginative story where mistaken identity leads to a rather unusual adventure. Robin becomes principal of her new school for a few days and a crazy time ensues! A fun, enjoyable read.
March 15, 2008
really good!!!! =)
March 23, 2008
Not to lie to people
Read
August 16, 2008JF Mye
October 10, 2008
When I sub in a high school, I am always afraid of being taken for one of the students. What if a student was taken for the principal? Hilarious and moving.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews