Product Description

It is the first day of school and the kids of Marie Curie School are getting a new teacher. Everyone arrives hoping for an athletic and handsome specimen, but instead, they find a fat, wrinkly, and incredibly old one. At first, the class is very disappointed. But then each student receives a strange gift-a book of very special coupons-and it becomes obvious that Monsieur Noël is not the kind of teacher you meet everyday. The school year is bound to be anything but ordinary.

Illustrated by Serge Bloch
Translated by Gill Rosner

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1213784 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Originally published in France, Morgenstern's (Secret Letters from 0 to 10) brief novel introduces Hubert No‰l, the new fifth-grade teacher in a French school. Though the students in his class are initially disgruntled that he is old, round and wrinkled, Monsieur No‰l soon wins them over with his penchant for giving presents. His first gifts to the children are books of coupons, entitling them to such privileges as sleeping in class, losing their homework and getting out of trouble. The second present he gives to the class, one per student, is David Copperfield ("My gift to you is the story, the characters, the words, the ideas, the style, the emotions. Once you have read the book, all these things will be yours for life"). Other gifts follow, and his idea of a field trip is to learn everyday lessons; for instance during a trip to the post office, he points out, "See how hard it is to wait your turn? You need a lot of patience in life." The author builds on an engaging premise, yet the story's point of view fluctuates, so that many of the supporting characters remain sketchy. Unlike her previous novel, the children here are overshadowed by the adults, Monsieur No‰l and his nemesis, principal Incarnation Perez. Still, the uplifting mood and Bloch's Thurber-esque caricatures make this an enjoyable outing. Ages 8-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-On the first day of school, Mr. Noel gives each of his fifth graders a book of coupons-one for sleeping late, another for eating in class, another for giving the teacher a kiss on the cheek. The students quickly discover that he is quite serious in honoring the coupons, whether for missed homework or for a skipped day of school. Not surprisingly, the autocratic principal does not approve of this unorthodox method of classroom management and tries to get rid of Mr. Noel. Unfortunately, both the writing style and the story are uneven. There are some very funny scenes, including a wild classroom dancing lesson, but there are also spots in which the plot stops dead in its tracks. Long, adult-toned digressions about Mr. Noel's absent family or the principal's lonely weekend plans seem to be totally out of place. Character development also focuses on the adults. The principal is a military-style martinet with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Her vendetta against Mr. Noel is personal, vindictive, and, ultimately, successful. Mr. Noel himself is a free spirit who loves his class but makes no effort to understand or defend himself against the principal's attacks. Readers learn the students' names, but there is little else to distinguish them from one another. Despite the slim format and humorous premise, this book promises more than it delivers.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. With the same ineffable sweetness she displayed in Secret Letters from 0 to 10 (1998), Morgenstern offers another offbeat tale with a very French accent. The fifth-graders return to school, only to find that their new teacher is the very fat, very old Hubert Noel. True to his festive name, he gives them presents; each child gets a book of coupons. The coupons are for wonderful things: sleeping late, dancing in class, not going to the blackboard when called, and so on. The children are dazzled, and even more so by his other gifts: the gift of reading David Copperfield; the gift of seeing how hard it is to be patient when waiting in line at the post office. The school's dragon principal, Incarnation Perez, is not pleased with any of this and begins a campaign to make Noel retire, ignoring his subversive attempts not only to win her over but also to make her life gentler. She wins, of course, and the children end the year by giving the teacher a coupon of his own for "a happy retirement." Then off he goes to his favorite restaurant. There's a great tenderness in Morgenstern's treatment of the elderly teacher, his students, and even the prickly principal, and the bittersweet resolution is one that children will accept, for they will know what gifts Monsieur Noel has left behind. Serge Block's sketches are just right. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Coupons for living
This book was first published in 1999 in French, under the title of Joker. The class returning to an unnamed grammar school for its final year were happy about finishing a French summer that grown boring, but found their new teacher, Hubert Noel, decidedly alarming.

He sat behind the desk like some unmovable tree trunk, and was so fat that Mohammed wondered if he were seeing double, or triple. He had so many wrinkles that some students thought he resembled "those pictures of God, with messy white hair and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, not to mention the balloon potbelly." His voice sounded like it came from the bowels of the earth.

But most alarming of all were the first words he spoke. Not, "my name is," or "sit down please" but "I have a present for you." And then the monstrosity gave each student a wrapped package. Inside, the children each discovered a book of coupons. They were not the kind of coupons one could use in a store.

No, each book contained one coupon for activities usually forbidden by schools--sleeping late, skipping a day of school, being late to school, losing your homework, forgetting your books, not listening in class, sleeping in class, copying from your neighbor, not going when called to the blackboard, getting out of trouble, eating in class, making a lot of noise, singing at the top of your lungs when you like, dancing in class, taking a break, clowning around, telling a lie and giving the teacher a kiss.

The children were so startled by what they found that Benedicte, whom Mr. Noel appointed to read the coupons, had to stop, and Mohammed took over. He read six more coupons--one each for hugging whomever you like, taking your own sweet time, taking a never--ending recess, forgetting the books for your assignment, taking a longer vacation and the piece de resistance, one wild card coupon.

At first the students used lots of coupons, but as the year progressed, they found that it was more fun to come to school and use the coupons en masse. This made for some surprising capers.

Everything Mr. Noel offered them was some present. An assignment to read Charles Dickens, for example, began with their receipt of gift-wrapped copies of David Copperfield. Try as they might to avoid reading it, they rather enjoyed the--er, presents--that Mr. Noel had given them. Aside from the pleasant fact that the author had the same name, Charles found he could not put the book down, and stayed up all night reading, which led him to use his late-to-school coupon the next day.

Before long, Mr. Noel got himself into very hot water with the tyrannical school principal, Incarnation Perez. How he extracted himself from that difficulty is but one of the things that makes this book magical.

Another is the priceless lesson that Mr. Noel imparted. "When you're born, you get a whole bunch of coupons."

Which ones? Charles, Laurent, and Benedicte shouted, the coupons for life--for walking, speaking, learning to read, learning languages, learning geography biology and all the other `ologies,' for sports, the coupons for love.

Then the children did something very wild with their 26 collected wild card coupons. But you'll have to read this delightful tale to find out what. Alyssa A. Lappen

Loved It!
I was pleasantly surprised. I was just hoping for a book good enough to read and actually loved this book. Lots of tidbits of great lessons.

Kids would like Monsieur Noel
A fast read, sweet story about the year of schooling with an unusual teacher, Monsieur Noel. Initial doubt turns to understanding and growth by his charges, but his ways also raise eyebrows within the school administration. The book pleasantly reverberates from well-intended divergent-thinking leadership, and sweetly brings home the point that there's no one right way to teach and get good results. Most kids would read this, enjoy it, and wish for such a teacher.