Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Mr. Wackenteach Teaches 4th Grade? The Wackenteach Series is a children's educational concept book written by JCM. The Specialists are excited about school which starts the very next day, but they're wondering just who their new teacher will be. They had expected to have another year with Mr. Wackenteach, and they had really been looking forward to it as he seemed to get even wackier each year. Then, the announcement on the Pagic Elementary School Principal's office indicated that the fourth grade class would be taught by Miss Haggywitch. Miss Haggywitch? -- they all wondered, still hoping for a last minute change in schedule. But when they arrived at school the next day, it was stormy and dark outside, and the curtains to their classroom were open. No one wanted to go inside. Peering in, they could only see a candle burning on the teacher's desk and the back of Miss Haggywitch, who didn't seem at all interested in seeing who her new class would be. And she was wearing a tall, pointed black witch’s hat. As the students hesitated at the door, not wanting to enter, the stormy day got even worse. They could hear thunder booming in the distance, and flashes of lightning coming closer and closer; then it started to rain really hard. The Specialists had no choice but to enter Miss Haggywitch's class.

JCM's educational concept book for children, Mr. Wackenteach Teaches 4th Grade?, injects an air of uncertainty into the series as the fourth-grade Specialists have a new and somewhat frightening teacher to contend with, and even the elements seem to be conspiring to make this a challenging first day indeed. I found myself just as curious and as faintly alarmed as the Specialists when they entered the candlelit room and surveyed their new teacher. With them, I wondered if this could really be true? Wherever is Mr. Wackenteach? But Mr. Wackenteach has prepared his Specialists for all sorts of untoward and unlikely events, even witches in black hats for teachers, and I smiled as they calmly withstood Miss Haggywitch's accusations that they were not at all special. Mr. Wackenteach Teaches 4th Grade? is a Special story indeed. It was a pleasure to see the confidence and strength the Specialists bring to bear in the face of their outlandish teacher, and I found I was holding my breath as the snoring began to emanate from underneath the teacher's desk. This book in the Wackenteach Series is brilliant. It's filled with drama, excitement, philosophy and wisdom, and it kept me riveted to the pages until the door finally opened and the Specialists left their classroom. Mr. Wackenteach Teaches 4th Grade? will thrill and enlighten Specialists of all ages, and it's most highly recommended.