Babymouse: School-Tripped

Holm, Jennifer L. and Holm, Matthew. School-Tripped (Babymouse: Tales from the Locker #3)
July 9th 2019 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by the publisher

Babymouse has found that middle school is NOT as exciting as she had hoped it would be, at least after the initial couple of weeks. She is still pretty thrilled about her smart phone, but otherwise middle school has settled into a routine. When her art teacher announces that the class will be traveling into New York City and visiting the art museum. Not only that, but because they are older and can be trusted, they will spend the day in the museum and not have to check in with chaperones; they just need to NOT leave the museum and be on the bus at 5:00 p.m. They are also not supposed to bring their cell phones. This, of course, is a ridiculous expectation, and Babymouse brings hers along. She also brings a portfolio of her work to show the curator, just in case she might want to stage a Babymouse art exhibition. Babymouse hears that some of the girls are going to leave the museum and go shopping, and she thinks this is a great idea. Along with her friend Penny, she leaves the museum and almost immediately finds a lost kitten. Dubbing the animal "Pizza Cat", the girls try to find the owners and end up having all sorts of adventures, including meeting Tommy H., their pop idol. At the last minute, they find the kitten's owner and barely make the bus, followed closely by the girls and their shopping bags. Babymouse is worried that she can't tell anyone information about the museum (other than the gift shop), but she manages to fake her way through in true Babymouse fashion.
Strengths: School trips have so much potential for humor and adventure, and are not depicted nearly enough in middle grade literature. This may, of course, be because no one takes trips any more because of funding cuts. This is a fun adventure in New York City with lots of food, fun characters, a cute kitten, and Babymouse trying (sort of) to do the right thing.
Weaknesses: The teacher in me wants to scream "This would never happen!" When we were in D.C., a group of kids wanted to eat at a shop right outside the Pentagon Mall, so I stayed with them while everyone else was inside. We just don't let children wander unaccounted away from school EVER. *Deep breaths* It makes for a great story, though.
What I really think: This will do well; my students always seem to be surprised that this series exists, which strikes me as odd.