Aided by her two corgis, the headmistress of the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents teaches her 8-year-old chargesBeatrice, Mildred, Fay and Annabelle, children whose parents don't have time for themhow to take care of themselves. Primavera's stylish story, while not laugh-out-loud funny, is undeniably humorous in tone, though paradoxically the situation is so poignant that it also has an underlying air of melancholy. The curriculum at Ms. Rapscott's school is "How to Find Your Way," and the students, who are brightly outlined but not given much internal shading, are graded on "pluck, enthusiasm, spirit of adventure, brilliance, and self-reliance." Ms. Rapscott, an indefatigable, charismatic leader who immediately sees the best in her initially unappealing charges, is full of inspirational remarks, urging her students to "be like a good pair of boots: sturdy, durable, and waterproof." The author's darkly whimsical black-and-white drawings supply atmosphere and also tell parts of the story. Although the tone is absurd and fantastical rather than representative and realistic, the girls, who are taught etiquette and survival basics such as how to write a thank-you note and "cross the street without getting squashed," grow and change in believable ways. This is not an emotionally involving tale but one that's quirky and imaginative, aimed at middle-graders who like their fiction with a twist. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this breezy novel, Primavera (Libby of High Hopes) evokes the spirit of such larger-than-life characters as Willy Wonka and Mary Poppins with Ms. Rapscott, the mysterious, take-charge, and oddly nurturing headmistress of the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents. In a sequence of wordless pencil illustrations à la The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Ms. Rapscott and her stalwart corgi assistants stand atop the school's lighthouse to greet a fleet of five large flying boxes containing their newest students. Four girls (one box arrived empty) comprise a motley class of ill-mannered and lonely children whose parents have no time for them, a circumstance the headmistress knows well. Starting with a daily breakfast of birthday cake and ice cream, Ms. Rapscott takes her charges on fantastical journeys that include riding on the backs of seal-like creatures called Seaskimmers, searching for their missing classmate, and flying in Amelia Earhart's plane. Primavera charmingly depicts the girls' activities in her soft pencil artwork, and a neat resolution and the suggestion of a new school term will leave readers eager for another outing. Ages 8-12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* A notice goes out: Attention Busy Parents! Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents has a unique curriculum designed solely for your daughter. For parents who are too busy to bring their daughters (which is all of them), a cardboard box is provided for mailing them to the school. This sets the tone for a story that fits neatly into the literary world of Mary Poppins and Nanny Piggins, where bemused children are brought up to snuff by a caring, albeit odd and occasionally alarming, caretaker. Here the children are belligerent Bea, fact-filled Amanda, nervous Fay, and lazy Mildred, and their teacher is Ms. Rapscott, a head-girl type who was once a child of busy parents herself and prefers a life so bracing that she lives in a lighthouse where the weather is always bad. How Ms. Rapscott pushes her charges beyond what they thought themselves capable of makes for a clever, highly amusing read with some sterling life lessons slipped in the cracks. Almost best of all are Primavera's fanciful pencil illustrations, featuring two of the most delightful (if silent) of the book's characters, Lewis and Clark, turtlenecked corgis that efficiently manage the girls and their hair-raising adventures. A plucky, invigorating romp with more adventures on the horizon.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2015 Booklist

WHO CAN RESIST a good boarding school novel? The literary tradition dates back as far as the mid-19th-century "Tom Brown's School Days," by Thomas Hughes, and Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1905 classic, "A Little Princess." These beloved stories shunt the parents aside without (necessarily) killing them off, leaving children to discover their own mettle. Two new boarding school tales for middle-grade readers offer fresh approaches - one whimsical and magical with a dose of gentle social satire, the other a whodunit of sorts, with a taste of international intrigue. "Ms. Rapscott's Girls," by Elise Primavera, begins with an advertisement for an unusual institution: the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents. The school, it announces, accepts only the daughters of "the busiest parents in the entire world." Parents are assured that the program will cover "everything your daughter needs to know that you are too busy to teach her!" In a wordless sequence of elegant pencil drawings of a lighthouse, we see Ms. Rapscott keeping lookout with her two corgis, Lewis and Clark, for the arrival of five 8-year-old girls, all in postage-paid boxes. Each is a different child-rearing disaster - one is so neglected she's taken to constant shouting, another to watching TV all day. But it's Ms. Rapscott herself who may be the book's greatest strength, especially her willingness to confide in the girls that she was once in their shoes, with parents too busy to take care of her properly. Combining a can-do spirit with a hint of Mary Poppins, she gives the girls assignments like, "Get Lost on Purpose." Her goal is to give them everything they need to care for themselves - not just survival skills, but also the knowledge of such things as wishbones, birthday cakes and thank-you notes. Soon enough, each girl begins to exercise new muscles, physically and psychologically. And what about those overbusy parents? By keeping the satire broad, Primavera seems less to be judging than to be suggesting that sometimes, another adult must step in and coax out the talents that parents overlook. Unlike Ms. Rapscott, the headmistress of Knight's Haddon in "The Girl With the Glass Bird" believes that her charges are best protected by keeping the world at arm's length, starting with the driveway to the school, which is so long that upon arrival 11-year-old Edie has "a strange sense of being lost." Orphaned and poor, Edie is at Knight's Haddon under false pretenses. A Russian prince is paying her tuition so she can find out whether his daughter, Anastasia, is misplacing her valuables or is the victim of a cruel joke. The British author Esme Kerr has fashioned a claustrophobic atmosphere worthy of an Agatha Christie novel. At every turn, Edie finds a teacher or matron monitoring her. But the skills Edie acquired while aiding her blind Babka make her a keen observer, and well qualified for the mission of spying on behalf of the prince. Kerr plays up the economic divide between Edie and her privileged classmates, showing the cruelty that arises from petty jealousies and unwitting remarks. Yet Edie finds solace in the academics, the meals, the camaraderie among the girls. She is surprised to discover how much she likes Anastasia - and she's horrified to uncover a far darker plot against Anastasia than even the prince had suspected. One by one, Edie decides whether she can trust the people around her. Even the headmistress, Miss Fotheringay, whom she grows to admire, falls under Edie's suspicions. Edie knows that as much as she's come to think of Knight's Haddon as home, the only way to protect Anastasia is to take her away from it. Realizing she might never return, Edie feels "a sudden well of grief, not for what she was leaving, but for what she thought she had found." Isn't that what growing up is all about? These books explore an ambivalent first taste of independence, and readers will readily identify with their brave heroes. JENNIFER M. BROWN is the director of the Center for Children's Literature at the Bank Street College of Education and the children's editor for Shelf Awareness. She blogs at TwentybyJenny.

At her school inside a lighthouse, Ms. Rapscott--with the cheerful assistance of two meticulous, turtleneck-wearing corgis--offers life lessons to the lonely daughters of "the busiest parents in the world." An unusual plot, with whiffs of Mary Poppins, is filled with whimsical details and dashes of humor. Pencil illustrations add to the magic, occasionally taking helm of the narrative. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 3-6-Ms. Rapscott's School for Girls of Very Busy Parents is a special place for female students whose parents do not have time for such tedious tasks as reading bedtime stories or answering annoying questions like "What is a birthday present?" Ms. Rapscott knows parents are so busy they won't have time to fill out applications, much less bring their daughters to the school, so she thoughtfully sends acceptance letters in advance, along with prepaid boxes in which they can ship their girls directly to the school. Once the students arrive, Ms. Rapscott teaches the girls all the things their parents have been too busy to teach them-like how to cross the street safely and the importance of changing underwear daily. With witticisms and memorable quips, the humorous tone of this book is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins) books and will appeal to boys, girls, and even adults who appreciate great wordplay. Katherine Kellgren narrates the story using unique and emotive voices. VERDICT Overall, this is an excellent story and resource for any library serving upper elementary age students.-Tara Hixon, Piedmont Public Schools, OK © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.