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The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts
In 1904, Russell Culver 15 wants to leave school and his tiny Indiana farm town for the endless sky of the Dakotas. Instead of school closing, leaving him free to roam, his sister Tansy steps in. Despite stolen supplies, a privy fire, and many snakes, Tansy maybe, just maybe, can set her brother on a wiser course.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Richard Peck
98 books699 followersRichard Peck was an American novelist known for his prolific contributions to modern young adult literature. He was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2001 for his novel A Year Down Yonder. For his cumulative contribution to young-adult literature, he received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1990.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 787 reviews
February 8, 2020
What a lovely book. I put it on my to read list a long time ago because of a review I read somewhere but never seemed to find it in he bookstores in UK or US/Canada. Ordered it online finally I think 2nd hand. I usually read the heavier darker books but it is great to read a book which is warm, funny, set in the 1904s about two young brothers living at their fathers farm and growing up... with their 17 year old sister Tansy the freshly appointed school teacher when the old one, Miss Myrt Arbuckle, kicked the bucket. It leads to many funny scenes. It's a read for young people, but just as entertaining for the grownups. Oh and I loved J.W., the dog, J.W. is short for Just Worthless, I would make that J.A., Just Adorable. I think I will order another book by this author. Easy reading, funny, makes you feel good...
March 10, 2019
If there's one thing you can't see at the age of fifteen, it's ahead.
Russell wants nothing more than to leave his tiny hometown in Indiana, and start working on a threshing crew in the Dakotas. Only one thing stands in the way of his dream . . . school. BUT, in a stroke of luck, his horrid teacher, Miss Myrt, has "swapped semesters for eternity" and croaked! With no teacher, they'll have to close the schoolhouse, and Russell will be free to head for greener pastures, or, in his case, more amberer waves.
Well, not if his big sister, Tansy, has anything to do with it.
She has her sights (and her switch), set on taking over the school, and Russell's going to learn mighty quickly just how awful it is to have your sister as your teacher.
Here's another winner by Peck. Though not quite as endearing as A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, this one is laugh-out-loud funny, with a sweet and touching ending to boot. Highly recommended for all ages!
Russell wants nothing more than to leave his tiny hometown in Indiana, and start working on a threshing crew in the Dakotas. Only one thing stands in the way of his dream . . . school. BUT, in a stroke of luck, his horrid teacher, Miss Myrt, has "swapped semesters for eternity" and croaked! With no teacher, they'll have to close the schoolhouse, and Russell will be free to head for greener pastures, or, in his case, more amberer waves.
Well, not if his big sister, Tansy, has anything to do with it.
She has her sights (and her switch), set on taking over the school, and Russell's going to learn mighty quickly just how awful it is to have your sister as your teacher.
Here's another winner by Peck. Though not quite as endearing as A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, this one is laugh-out-loud funny, with a sweet and touching ending to boot. Highly recommended for all ages!
March 1, 2008
This book must be read out loud. The eulogy had me laughing so hard tears were pouring down my face.
October 1, 2015
I read this book aloud to my children and I would sometimes laugh so hard that I couldn't go on for a minute or two. Seriously, Richard Peck is hilarious. I love his books and I love to read them to my kids, but this one just really tickled my funny bone. I don't know if I would have found it to be as funny if I'd read it to myself silently. But hearing those lines out loud just compounded the funny.
September 1, 2009
A very enjoyable read. I felt I was just listening to a man tell a few anecdotes from his teen years about how the old teacher died, and how his sister worked to become the new teacher. I love the ol' hometown feel to the book. And the humor was honest, simple, and hilarious. All of it was realistic and nostalgic. I just really liked it. This is the second book I've read (listened to) by Peck. And I've noticed that they start out all right, then somewhere along the way I find myself completely enchanted with the world the narrators are talking of, and finally ending with this happy, uplifted feeling. For many reasons I like this book over "the librarian book" and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a light, clean, happy read that just makes you feel like you've come on home.
August 18, 2007
I just had the oddest experience. I read this book this week without realizing I'd read it before. This has sometimes happened with books that aren't very good (I block them out), but this book is great! And I hadn't forgotten it, exactly; all the details kept coming back to me about three pages in advance...so that I kept thinking I must have only had time to read PART of the book in the past but would soon get to where I didn't remember. But...nope. I got to the very end and even the final line (which I'd been waiting for the whole time) was suddenly familiar. I'd read the whole thing before.
How'd THAT happen?
I also got the feeling I didn't fully appreciate this book the last time, as if I'd read it as a kid with only dim awareness. But the book came out in 2004. It's one of his newest (and one I'd been "looking forward" to reading for a while--but apparently had already gotten to).
I can see why I both remembered the details, lines, and voice, yet had trouble retaining the whole (until each next scene emerged). But I loved this book (again). A solid four stars.
How'd THAT happen?
I also got the feeling I didn't fully appreciate this book the last time, as if I'd read it as a kid with only dim awareness. But the book came out in 2004. It's one of his newest (and one I'd been "looking forward" to reading for a while--but apparently had already gotten to).
I can see why I both remembered the details, lines, and voice, yet had trouble retaining the whole (until each next scene emerged). But I loved this book (again). A solid four stars.
March 14, 2011
It's been a while since I've read something by Peck. As usual, he doesn't disappoint with what I look for in his books. I like that he tells stories from an earlier time, that he brings value to simpler lives. There is no grand plot that must be resolved in this book. The characters don't have grand flaws. Instead, you get a book with likable characters and you get to see a slice of their lives. In this instance, it's Russell's dreams for his future and his sister's efforts to become a good teacher in their little one-room schoolhouse. It's nice to have these voices available to younger readers. It's also nice to have a plot that doesn't seem extraordinary. As much as I enjoy those novels, it's nice to return to basic storytelling.
November 16, 2008
This was a read-aloud book for the family and we all enjoyed it. Buckling under pressure I read it in my best Hoosier accent. The book was well written, humorous and understated. Like the characters on its pages the story makes no attempt to be more than it is and, therefore, becomes all the better.
September 16, 2015
I definitely prefer A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, but this one was still good. I didn't find it particularly funny but Peck's style and way of incorporating characters makes a lovely read.
February 16, 2014
Sì. Scelgo i libri dal titolo e quindi non potevo perdermi questo libro XD
Dopo l'ennesimo BEL libro che quasi sicuramente non vedremo mai in Italia ho preso una decisione: se un giorno diventerò sufficientemente ricca (diciamo anche schifosamente ricca.. Del genere che i dubbi esistenziali sono se prendere il sole in Brasile o alle Hawaii), aprirò una casa editrice che pubblicherà opere straniere che le nostre si sono fatte sfuggire, pubblicandole a prezzi irrisori..
E proporrò sicuramente questo libro!!
Se leggete in inglese senza problemi (inizialmente il libro mi ha messo un po' in difficoltà, lo ammetto) e avete un paio d'ore da dedicare ad una bella lettura allora questo libro fa sicuramente per voi!
Come dicevo poco più su, ciò che mi ha conquistato per primo è stato il titolo: non solo la parte macabra -la morte della povera maestra- ma il fatto che si trattasse di una commedia e che poteva dunque riservare interessanti sorprese.. E così infatti è stato!! Lo so che prima o poi sbatterò il muso con qualche lettura estremamente deludente solo perché il titolo suonava bene.. Ma fino a che l'esperimento funziona, a me sembra un ottimo modo per scegliere random cosa leggere :D
La storia è ambientata nel 1904, quando le prime macchine fanno la loro comparsa, quando il passaggio dei treni nelle vicinanze è un'occasione che riunisce tutta la cittadina.. E un periodo in cui la scuola è quello che è: una stanzetta (se va bene), alunni di tutte le età che svolgono lo stesso programma e insegnanti che lasciano un po' il tempo che trovano.
Russell, il nostro narratore, ha 15 anni e combatte ancora con l'esame dell'ottavo grado (una nostra terza media, per intenderci) ma non si fa troppi problemi: scapperà il prima possibile in Dakota.. E la morte della sua insegnante sembra essere l'occasione perfetta: Infatti subito pensa che la scuola verrà per questo motivo chiusa per sempre, così da salvarlo dalla scelta.. O no? Arriva infatti a sorpresa una nuova insegnante più temibile della precedente: Tansy, sorella di Russell :D
E che ve lo dico a fare.. Russell è assolutamente disperato (soprattutto quando pensa di saltare scuola e si rende tristemente conto che non può XD) e progetta ancor più spasmodicamente l'agognata fuga con l'amico Charlie.
Una serie di avventure, di lezioni fallimentari e di situazioni (tragi)comiche, l'affetto del padre di Russell per i suoi figli (se fosse stato sviluppato un pizzico di più, sarebbe stato perfetto!) e pure un po' di amore vi terranno compagnia fino all'ultima pagina del romanzo, promesso!
Il penultimo capitolo è stato meraviglioso, giuro! Non posso dire troppo perché rischierei spoiler immensi, ma è veramente tenero :')
L'ultimo capitolo l'ho trovato da una parte un po' frettoloso (anche se un frettoloso "giustificato") dall'altra assolutamente perfetto: adoro le decisioni prese dall'autore, tutte perfette e sensate.. Bravo!!
Per quanto riguarda lo stile.. alcuni pezzi mi hanno fatto molto ridere, altri li ho trovati davvero geniali.. Ma devo ammettere che ogni tanto la storia è risultata un po' confusa, troppo "veloce".. Credo di essermi persa dei passaggi chiave :/
Una lettura nel complesso estremamente godibile, veloce e fresco.. Consigliatissimo!!
Charlie hadn’t emptied the bottle himself. He could be a handful, but even he wouldn’t take up hard liquor. His dad was the Methodist preacher. Us Culvers were Methodists too. It meant you could do pretty much as you pleased as long as you didn’t drink liquor or dance. Especially dance. Us Methodists said dancing was nothing but hugging to music.
Then after dinner she sent us down to the garden to pick a big bunch of glads. “Flowers?” I said, dancing out of her range. “We’re boys. We don’t pick flowers.” “You’ll be picking up your teeth if you don’t.” She made a fist.
There was tragedy in his eyes, but he liked funerals better than weddings. As he often said, “Better tears now than tears later.”
“Besides, when did Dad ever take anything out of your hide?” I said. “When did he ever once whup you?” “That time you got me to steal his .22 rifle to kill rats in the barn, and I shot Siren instead, and she kicked the door off her stall.” “Well,” I said, “other than that.” “The time you got me to plug every watermelon in the patch to find the ripest one, and we ruined a whole wagonload of – ” “Well,” I said, “if you don’t count – ” “The time you – ” “All right,” I said, “all right. But Dad’s not going to do anything, so forget all about it. Put it out of your mind. We’re innocent.”
As a school study, it was known as ‘orthography’. It was the most important subject in the education of that time. You may not have anything to say, but you dadburn better know how to spell it.
“I won’t live out home no more,” Glenn said. “My brothers were on me day and night about quittin’ school. They don’t want me gittin’ ahead of them. They’d do anything to keep me down.” “Why?” “That’s the way people is who ain’t goin’ anyplace in life theirselves. They don’t want you goin’ anyplace either.
Dopo l'ennesimo BEL libro che quasi sicuramente non vedremo mai in Italia ho preso una decisione: se un giorno diventerò sufficientemente ricca (diciamo anche schifosamente ricca.. Del genere che i dubbi esistenziali sono se prendere il sole in Brasile o alle Hawaii), aprirò una casa editrice che pubblicherà opere straniere che le nostre si sono fatte sfuggire, pubblicandole a prezzi irrisori..
E proporrò sicuramente questo libro!!
Se leggete in inglese senza problemi (inizialmente il libro mi ha messo un po' in difficoltà, lo ammetto) e avete un paio d'ore da dedicare ad una bella lettura allora questo libro fa sicuramente per voi!
Come dicevo poco più su, ciò che mi ha conquistato per primo è stato il titolo: non solo la parte macabra -la morte della povera maestra- ma il fatto che si trattasse di una commedia e che poteva dunque riservare interessanti sorprese.. E così infatti è stato!! Lo so che prima o poi sbatterò il muso con qualche lettura estremamente deludente solo perché il titolo suonava bene.. Ma fino a che l'esperimento funziona, a me sembra un ottimo modo per scegliere random cosa leggere :D
La storia è ambientata nel 1904, quando le prime macchine fanno la loro comparsa, quando il passaggio dei treni nelle vicinanze è un'occasione che riunisce tutta la cittadina.. E un periodo in cui la scuola è quello che è: una stanzetta (se va bene), alunni di tutte le età che svolgono lo stesso programma e insegnanti che lasciano un po' il tempo che trovano.
Russell, il nostro narratore, ha 15 anni e combatte ancora con l'esame dell'ottavo grado (una nostra terza media, per intenderci) ma non si fa troppi problemi: scapperà il prima possibile in Dakota.. E la morte della sua insegnante sembra essere l'occasione perfetta: Infatti subito pensa che la scuola verrà per questo motivo chiusa per sempre, così da salvarlo dalla scelta.. O no? Arriva infatti a sorpresa una nuova insegnante più temibile della precedente: Tansy, sorella di Russell :D
E che ve lo dico a fare.. Russell è assolutamente disperato (soprattutto quando pensa di saltare scuola e si rende tristemente conto che non può XD) e progetta ancor più spasmodicamente l'agognata fuga con l'amico Charlie.
Una serie di avventure, di lezioni fallimentari e di situazioni (tragi)comiche, l'affetto del padre di Russell per i suoi figli (se fosse stato sviluppato un pizzico di più, sarebbe stato perfetto!) e pure un po' di amore vi terranno compagnia fino all'ultima pagina del romanzo, promesso!
Il penultimo capitolo è stato meraviglioso, giuro! Non posso dire troppo perché rischierei spoiler immensi, ma è veramente tenero :')
L'ultimo capitolo l'ho trovato da una parte un po' frettoloso (anche se un frettoloso "giustificato") dall'altra assolutamente perfetto: adoro le decisioni prese dall'autore, tutte perfette e sensate.. Bravo!!
Per quanto riguarda lo stile.. alcuni pezzi mi hanno fatto molto ridere, altri li ho trovati davvero geniali.. Ma devo ammettere che ogni tanto la storia è risultata un po' confusa, troppo "veloce".. Credo di essermi persa dei passaggi chiave :/
Una lettura nel complesso estremamente godibile, veloce e fresco.. Consigliatissimo!!
Charlie hadn’t emptied the bottle himself. He could be a handful, but even he wouldn’t take up hard liquor. His dad was the Methodist preacher. Us Culvers were Methodists too. It meant you could do pretty much as you pleased as long as you didn’t drink liquor or dance. Especially dance. Us Methodists said dancing was nothing but hugging to music.
Then after dinner she sent us down to the garden to pick a big bunch of glads. “Flowers?” I said, dancing out of her range. “We’re boys. We don’t pick flowers.” “You’ll be picking up your teeth if you don’t.” She made a fist.
There was tragedy in his eyes, but he liked funerals better than weddings. As he often said, “Better tears now than tears later.”
“Besides, when did Dad ever take anything out of your hide?” I said. “When did he ever once whup you?” “That time you got me to steal his .22 rifle to kill rats in the barn, and I shot Siren instead, and she kicked the door off her stall.” “Well,” I said, “other than that.” “The time you got me to plug every watermelon in the patch to find the ripest one, and we ruined a whole wagonload of – ” “Well,” I said, “if you don’t count – ” “The time you – ” “All right,” I said, “all right. But Dad’s not going to do anything, so forget all about it. Put it out of your mind. We’re innocent.”
As a school study, it was known as ‘orthography’. It was the most important subject in the education of that time. You may not have anything to say, but you dadburn better know how to spell it.
“I won’t live out home no more,” Glenn said. “My brothers were on me day and night about quittin’ school. They don’t want me gittin’ ahead of them. They’d do anything to keep me down.” “Why?” “That’s the way people is who ain’t goin’ anyplace in life theirselves. They don’t want you goin’ anyplace either.
September 4, 2019
2019: Our read-aloud times were severely interrupted through the summer, so we decided to fall back on an old standby instead of starting something new. This could very well be the last time I read this book aloud to the Podlings, as they, too, are soon "Grown and Flown."
2017: The Podlings have been requesting another re-read, and I finally got around to it. We never tire of enjoying this story together. It's one of my favorite kids' books of all time. And that's saying something.
2015: Back by popular Podling request, this marks our fourth read aloud experience. I notice different instances of foreshadowing each time, and this time around I couldn't get over the alliteration. So much perfect alliteration!
2014: Upgrading this to five stars because I've read this book three times within a calendar year (once to myself and twice aloud to children) and I've enjoyed it more with each re-read.
2013: Absolutely, positively delightful.
2017: The Podlings have been requesting another re-read, and I finally got around to it. We never tire of enjoying this story together. It's one of my favorite kids' books of all time. And that's saying something.
2015: Back by popular Podling request, this marks our fourth read aloud experience. I notice different instances of foreshadowing each time, and this time around I couldn't get over the alliteration. So much perfect alliteration!
2014: Upgrading this to five stars because I've read this book three times within a calendar year (once to myself and twice aloud to children) and I've enjoyed it more with each re-read.
2013: Absolutely, positively delightful.
March 17, 2022
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts was such a heartwarming story. For me, it was a fun, lighthearted story sandwiched between reading Bleak House and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The setting is rural Indiana farm country in 1904. Children go to school in a 1st-8th grade, one-room schoolhouse and are expected to do chores before and after school. Richard Peck shows us what life was like in those days. He introduced such great characters, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. It’s a great book if you just need to wind down, be transported back to pre-technology days, and laugh.
September 22, 2022
aaaaahhhh THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK. am so close to rating it five stars because it's just so good, and happy, and funny, and heartwarming, and i love it so very much.
all the characters are so wonderful, and strangely simple and complex all at once. yay for close families, and big sisters, and solid pals that do stupid things with you, and weird, grouchy, good-hearted neighbors.
it's a goofy book, comical, and dramatic, but at it's core it's got a lot of heart.
this book felt like a hug, and i couldn't stop smiling after i read it. here is a grand example of why i came to love middle-grade in the first place. i read it in a day, and am already thinking of when i can pick it up again.
all the characters are so wonderful, and strangely simple and complex all at once. yay for close families, and big sisters, and solid pals that do stupid things with you, and weird, grouchy, good-hearted neighbors.
it's a goofy book, comical, and dramatic, but at it's core it's got a lot of heart.
this book felt like a hug, and i couldn't stop smiling after i read it. here is a grand example of why i came to love middle-grade in the first place. i read it in a day, and am already thinking of when i can pick it up again.
June 4, 2021
Richard Peck is one of my very favorite authors! This book was so funny! I loved every word!
November 28, 2022
it was very slow but it did get interesting. would i read it again? probably not but it was a fairly good book.
April 17, 2024
Update: My daughters, of the Harry Potter generation, used to enjoy re-reading the series every year. I used to be amused, if a little confused, by such devotion...until the day I picked up a favorite Peck novel (that I'd read many times) for a re-read. It was then l realized Peck's historical fiction canon is, in fact, my Harry Potter. Starting clear back in the tiny Lewisville library of my childhood with the Blossom Culp books and up to recent, relatively speaking, years. I've loved Fair Weather, The River Between Us, the Grandma Dowdle books (I love so so much), Here Lies the Librarian...but mostly this book. So, another re-read. Another closing of the book with a contented sigh. See you next year, Culvers.
Original review 5/09:
I LOVED this book! It's everything that Peck's historical novels are--funny, charming and lovable. Because Peck writes for the younger end of his young adult audience, he doesn't shy from neat and tidy happy-ever-afters, which I love, and this makes for a very satisfying and fun read. Probably my new favorite for now...
Original review 5/09:
I LOVED this book! It's everything that Peck's historical novels are--funny, charming and lovable. Because Peck writes for the younger end of his young adult audience, he doesn't shy from neat and tidy happy-ever-afters, which I love, and this makes for a very satisfying and fun read. Probably my new favorite for now...
June 7, 2020
This book has been on my to-read list for a long time and I'm so glad I finally read it. It was charming and funny and heart-warming! Told from the POV of a 14yo boy, this book shows the huge differences between growing up at the turn of the century vs the turn of the millennium. The main character here deals with such different things than we do now, but some things stay the same - humor, family loyalty, poverty, prejudice, kindness, friendship, love. The writing was great and I will look for more from Peck. There's a reason he won a Newberry. I bet it's good on audio too.
I'd recommend this to 12 and up. Teens and adults would enjoy it. Even though it deals with some hard things, it mostly references them in a non-graphic way that could lead to some good family conversation. I'd say it's a little past PG, but mild PG-13.
I'd recommend this to 12 and up. Teens and adults would enjoy it. Even though it deals with some hard things, it mostly references them in a non-graphic way that could lead to some good family conversation. I'd say it's a little past PG, but mild PG-13.
June 30, 2018
We took a break from serious audio books on this road trip and listened to this entertaining book. It was short, funny and kept the whole family’s attention.
September 14, 2018
Loved it. There were some laugh out loud moments and also some that made me tear up a bit. I loved visiting the simplicity of 1904 Indiana.
February 17, 2020
I didn't think I would like this one at first, but as I got into it, I read the last 130 pages in about 3 hours. The writing is clever, subtle, and at times laugh out loud funny. I don't share much in common with any of the characters, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't like them all by the end of things. Well-written and deeply enjoyable.
August 10, 2021
A fun YA historical fiction set in the early 1900s. When the teacher of their one-room schoolhouse dies a couple weeks before school starts, Russell is pretty excited. He thinks they may shut the school down. All he wants to do is leave his tiny Indiana town for the Dakotas. Unfortunately for him, his sister Tansy becomes the new teacher and his plans are shot. Tansy's handful of pupils range in age from six to seventeen, but despite their shenanigans, she manages to cram them full of learning. A quick fun read.
August 18, 2022
I read this book in one day - 15 years ago and I can still remember the details. I thought about it when we went into lockdown - the boys hoping that school would be closed only to face their worst nightmare. I am not sure kids would see the humor in this book - one example: do kids know why someone would smoke rope?
October 16, 2023
It should not have taken me months to finish this book, but it did go on pause several times due to life circumstances.
I think this is a great middle grade/YA novel for those wanting to experience life at the turn of the previous century (we can't say turn of the century anymore, can we now?...). I loved vicariously experiencing country life and the setting of a one room schoolhouse.
I think this is a great middle grade/YA novel for those wanting to experience life at the turn of the previous century (we can't say turn of the century anymore, can we now?...). I loved vicariously experiencing country life and the setting of a one room schoolhouse.
May 7, 2017
Yet another of those "boys back in the old days" books. It's not bad, but I think I'd like to find the best one or two of this type and skip the rest. There is quite a bit of overlap in various predicaments, pranks, etc.
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March 6, 2019My boys and I couldn’t get into this one. I have a lot of trouble reading even appropriately stylistic grammatical errors (I know) and it seems my boys have inherited this quirk from me.
January 4, 2023
it was slow and it was hard to understand but it was okay.
June 5, 2023
honestly this will probably be my best read of the year
September 14, 2023
Not my favorite Richard peck
July 22, 2024
Not bad for summer reading!
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