Mrs. McBloom, Clean Up Your Classroom!

by Kelly DiPucchio, Guy Francis (Illustrator)

They say that a little mess is a sign of genius, and if this is the case, kids in Room Five are being led by a teacher with the intellectual caliber of Einstein. Her accumulation of instructional materials have inspired twenty two janitors to grumble, "Mrs. McBroom, clean up your classroom!" And Mrs. McBloom has planned to...see, it's right there on her to-do list, before "take a fancy-shmancy cruise." But with retirement looming, in true veteran fashion, she entrusts her students with finding a solution. They've got a doozy: the biggest garage sale that the town has ever seen. What will Mrs. McBloom do with the proceeds? Read this clever ending to find out!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Kelly is the award-winning author of several children’s books, thousands of To-Do lists, and a few recipe cards. Two of her books, Grace For President and The Sandwich Swap, were New York Times bestsellers.

Like most kids who grew up in the 1970’s, Kelly had a pet goat and bought all her clothes from the Sears catalog. Like most teenagers who grew up in the 1980’s, Kelly had really big glasses and feathered hair.

Today, Kelly lives with her husband and three children in southeastern Michigan, where she enjoys writing just about everything except her own bio.

Reviews

[Skyler McSheehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picturebook. It was a cute book about a teacher that was about to retire who needed to clean up her classroom. The students decided to get the community involved to help to clean up this very clutter room so it would be tidy for the new teacher who would be moving in and start the long cycle of a cluttered room all over. Loved the illustrations in this book!

[April Grob · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really cute.

[Gabriela Sanchez(EDUC378)]

Text-to-Self Connection

This was a great pick this week! I enjoyed reading this, this week. This book reminded me of me. I can honestly say that I can be a very messy and may seem like I am unorganized at times. This does not define me though. I fall under the saying of most messy people are smart.
This book is also kind and shows you that kindness comes from the heart. The way the students and the community come together to celebrate her retirement came from the heart. This book also reminded me of when one of the best assistant principles I had in middle school retired. I would but this book in my classroom to to a read aloud.

[Lewis Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great illustrations and a fantastic depiction of an old teacher winding down her career and finally going on a fancy shmancy cruise. I will look through and buy ANY book illustrated by this illustrator.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone knows a veteran teacher who is probably a secret yet apparent hoarder. Mrs. Mcbloom, a staple in her community, has been a teacher for years, having taught every community member. It seems that she has accumulated quite a bit of stuff over the years. The illustrations show the readers an exaggeration of things with trees, frogs, a litter of kittens, birds, and even a chicken. Even though Mrs. McBloom has a handy to-do list, she never seems to get around to cleaning her classroom. To clean up, she assigns the students to devise a plan to clean up room 5. As each student suggests silly plans to build magic cleaning machines and hire magicians, every plan seems helpful but not feasible. But that all changes once Georgia Peachtree presents her flier. She plans to help the infamous Mrs. Mcbloom by bringing the Yonder community together, to take one item out of the classroom. That Saturday, former students lined up to help get room 5 as tidy as possible. By the end of the day, community members found long-lost items, Georgia Peachtree won a medal, and now the classroom was ready and tidy for a new sweet teacher. Page after page, readers embark on a visual journey as they illustrate a classroom cluttered with items that resemble Mary Poppin's purse. This combination of written text and illustrations skillfully builds a sweet story of a beloved teacher who can not find it in her heart to remove the previous year's items. I rated this book a five because society should regard our teachers in this manner. Get involved, and strive to help. After all, our educators work diligently to educate our children and love them endlessly.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read-aloud potential and a wonderful ode to the slightly transgressive nature of acting on curiosity and wonder (not a spoiler spoiler: Mrs. McBloom isn't neglectful as much as she is a collector of many things kids are and should be curious about.)

The illustrations also make the story work for readers - I can think of many kids who will love identifying all of the items they can find in here!

[Ro Menendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading thinking about all the nagging over cluttered classrooms I’ve heard by administrators throughout my years, but that quickly turned into a sentimental read of all the amazing lessons and learning that took place in Mrs. McBloom’s class. Her current students show amazing problem solving skills and all of her students past and present show up to help her clean up and make her feel loved. This book makes a wonderful Retirement gift for an educator!

[Sydney Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is about the end of the teachers teaching career and how her classroom is so messy. I loved how the whole community came to help clean up her classroom and then were able to send her on the cruise she wanted to go on. I think this is a great message to kids about helping others when they need it and spreading kindness. I gave this book 5 stars because the illustrations were amazing and the storyline is super cute.

[Tai Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs. McBloom is a long time educator who has never ever cleaned her classroom! She wants to retire soon, and go on her dream vacation of taking a fancy-schmancy cruise on a boat. But before she can leave, her class needs to be cleaned!

I loved this book and its elements of realistic fiction. The plot presents both a clear problem and a clear resolution. The theme demonstrates the importance of keeping your classroom clean, recognizing when to ask for help, working together as a class and community to help someone in need, all while staying positive and in good spirits! The illustrations are jammed packed with detail and colors, drawing the reader in to pay close attention! Based on text complexity, I would love to use this book as a class read aloud for kinder to 3rd, and to have in the class library for 3rd to 5th.

[curiouskat_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this one. The name itself drew me in. Yet it just reads as another book masking lack of accountability as humour. Mrs. Mcbloom has never cleaned her classroom in the years since she started working and only at the end of her career does she even attempt to do so. Well, she actually tasks her students with coming up with a solution. This results in everyone else fixing her problem and her gaining a reward at the end....... despite her still not doing anything.

[Savannah Putfark]

The book is about a teacher named Mrs.McBloom who is about to retire and hasn't cleaned her room in 50 years, so she decides to clean it before she retires. I thought that the book was really cute and good story for reading during story time is how I would use it in the classroom, and I think that the students would really like this story and think that it was funny.

[Brooke Klamerus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an old teacher whose classroom is really messy and she has to clean it so another teacher can move in when she retires. One of her students creates a day for everyone from town to come get something from the classroom and it's finally cleaned. This book is very cute and fun for kids to read and it shows that you should keep your things clean.

[Katie Beardsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustrations and the writing of this book. I enjoyed the cute story, and how everyone in the town was connected through Mrs. Mcbloom. There is a story within about community which I like.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely finish to Mrs. McBloom's career as everyone in town helps her clean up her classroom as she retires. It's amazing to see everything that is in that room and all of the memories and connections included.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was beautifully illustrated but the story was weird. I understand the appeal of a teacher having momentos from different kids, teaching moments, etc however, I doubt an actual educator would let their classroom get to this level of messy. No thanks.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is so lovely. Mrs. McBloom has been a teacher for decades and has never cleaned up her classroom. Everyone has a different idea of how to do it. So many illustrated details to look at in each spread!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for fun. It is a great, silly book for kids. This helps kids see that everyone is messy, but sometimes being too messy is a problem.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

[Emily Geilman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture Book - EL ED 340
Cute and fun story!

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really sweet, I especially enjoyed when all her old students came back to visit.

[M Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One kid in the book makes a robot that has a broom and is cleaning up the room the boy has a remote control to control the robot.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mess in her classroom made me a bit anxious.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet children's book illustrating the impact a teacher can have on generations of students.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, I'll be a Mrs. Bloom someday.

[Glynnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book Little Man brought home from school library.

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favourite children's book! To me the best teachers have the messy rooms full of things. This wonderful book reminds me of my favorite teacher's

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOTS going on in the illustrations which fits perfectly with the story, which is wonderful.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE children's books and, even better, it's a favorite of all three of the kids. Mrs. McBloom has been teaching for over 50 years and has never cleaned up her classroom, which has accumulated books, science projects, lost lunches and a wonderful bevy of other goodies. She challenges her students to come up with a way to clear her classroom for the new teacher. The result is the entire city shows up to help!

This book is best read with the craziest and most Southern accent you can conjure up. It's funny and entertaining. There's hints of history and a true appreciation for great teachers. We've given this one as a gift to the kids teachers (once we find out they don't have it all ready).

The illustrations are just as creative as the story and wonderfully drawn. There are plenty of opportunities to play "I spy" on the pages before the room gets cleaned.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book!! We've read it at least a hundred times and will happily read it again and again.

[Lisa the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely delightful!

The zippy text by Kelly DiPucchio tells the story of an eccentric teacher who has not cleaned-up (de-junked) her classroom in the fifty years she has been teaching and now it is a disaster! The word choice and voice in this charming story are A+.

The colorful illustrations by Guy Francis only add to the fun whimsy of this book. There are so many brilliant little details of the enchanting illustrations that it is well worth spending a lot of time searching the pictures after reading the text.

Who doesn't know a teacher like Mrs. McBloom with a classroom "disaster" that makes learning so much fun!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read at the end of the year to commemorate a teacher or the completion of a school year. It also celebrates community- as everyone in the town of Up YOnder had once been a student of MRs. McBloom.

I thought the language in this book was unique. I would use it to teach VOICE, as the language is quite colloquial. There are a lot of examples of strong verbs and lively adjectives. This book begs to be read with a fun accent. I would also use this as a mentor text to teach hyphenated words.