Our Teacher Is Missing

by Mary Francis Shura

Eliza is happy to finally have a teacher so much like herself--quiet and withdrawn. Miss Dixon, whom the class nicknames "Mouse," is the first teacher who has accepted Eliza as she is, without trying to make her bolder or more forceful, things she knows she'll never be.

But one day, Miss Dixon suddenly disappears. She doesn't show up for school, and there is no answer at her home when the principal's office tries to reach her. Eliza's classmates come up with all sorts of theories--maybe she was in a car accident; or kidnapped; or in the FBI's witness protection program. And the adults don't seem to take her disappearance seriously.

Eliza begins to feel as if shs is the only one who cares. And in her own quiet way, she knows what she must do: find her missing teacher.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Chapter Books, Young Adult

137 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

About the author

Mary Francis Young was born on 23 February 1923 in Pratt, Kansas, the daughter of Jack Fant and Mary Francis (Milstead) Young. When she was very young, her family moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she raised. She studied at Maryville State College. On 24 October 1943, she married Daniel Charles Shura, who died in 1959. They had two children: Marianne Francis Shura (Spraguc) and Daniel Charles Shura. On 8 December 1961, she married Raymond C. Craig, they had a daughter Alice Barrett Craig (Stout), before their divorce.

Since 1960, she wrote over 50 books of various genres: children's adventures and teen-romances as Mary Francis Shura, M. F. Craig, and Meredith Hill; gothic novels as Mary Craig; romance novels as Alexis Hill, Mary Shura Craig and Mary S. Craig; and suspense novels as M. S. Craig.

Her children's novel "The Search for Grissi" received the Carl Sandburg Literary Arts Award in 1985, and she also was nominated to the Young Hoosier Book Award. In 1990, she was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.

She lived in Hinsdale, Illinois, where her apartment burned on 13 December 1990. At 67, she died of injuries suffered in the fire on 12 January 1991 in Loyola University Medical Burn Center in Maywood.

Reviews

[Sarah A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made a big impact on me as a kid. It was my first experience, I believe, reading a book that was "thrilling".

[Kya]

it was a amazing story about how the main charcter eliza her teacher goes missing she and a couple of freinds try to find there teacher and instead the find a group of criminals who kept there teacher captive untill the got the loot to where they want it they also had a friend named bengiman who also got kidnapped and was held hostige and them.............................................................. you will have to read the rest to find out it was the best ever

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, fast, and cute book. Many grammatical errors which should have been caught by the editor, but the story was relatable in today's world. I recommend this book to everyone 10+.

[Dan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came out in 1993, three years after the author died in 1990 at the age of 67. No one's mentioned it yet. She died a month after complications from a fire. As a result, we have no idea when this book was written; it's not stated anywhere and this is the only edition. And it shows. No idea when the publisher dug this out from her B-sides. I wouldn't be surprised if this was partially finished or rewritten by someone else.

If you're expecting a 90s vibe book you won't find it here- some of the references, personal relationship dynamics, and general school dynamics too... feel DATED. It's a weird mix of old-timey writing, which a dash of "modern" (read- mid/late 80s) touches thrown in. I had to re-read several sentences trying to parse what they meant. Even the names feel dated (Perky for example). Think about it- Mary Francis Shura was born in 1923... she would have been 40 in 1963. The '50s were vastly different than the 80s/90s.

Some of the words I had never seen before and I consider myself moderately well-read and educated. I didn't bother looking them up, but if I don't know what they mean, I doubt the target audience would understand them either. There's also a couple of good/traditional values spelled out in the book that border on preachy, but I suppose are fine. One was like- "I don't usually like when my parents hug me but now I didn't mind being wrapped in all of that glorious love." Okay.

The protagonist is a little unlikeable, a teacher's pet, and the mystery only really unfolds over two main events checking the house and finding the place in the woods. There is hardly any deduction; the events and outcome just happen. No building up of the villains. It's not a bad book. Some of the affection and relatability for the teacher from the protagonist was nice, but the mystery is lame and it's weirdly written. 2.5/5

[LB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book years ago. Today I decided to revisit the classroom with Eliza and her friends. Once again I was pulled into the story.

[Kellyanne Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favourite books when I was thirteen years old. I just really connected with the main character, her shy personality, and her relationship to her teacher. I remember being so disgusted with her classmates and with everyone else who clearly didn't care that this woman had gone missing. I love how Eliza would stop at nothing to find Miss Dixon. If I could find where I put it, I'd read it again.

[Jhale · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked the mystery and suspense

[Khadeejah · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the idea that the book was based upon but it wasn't my top favourite.i do like mystries like nancy drew and hardy boys etc though i won't say that this was my favourite book..