The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Olive Little Gets Crafty (Mrs. Z's Class #7)
July 8, 2025 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Olive Little is new to Curiosity Academy, but is enjoying it. Her grandmother, Sally, is a cook at the school and responsible for much of her care, since Olive's mother works the night shift. Olive loves crafts, and when she is tired of carrying her school issued recorder around in an old sock, she decides not only to make a sparkly new case, but to start a Cool Recorder Case Club. Josh, a fifth grader in charge of letting the third graders know about clubs, is a bit dismissive, but Olive doesn't let this stop her big plans. She's determined to make 18 cases, but even with Sally and her mother's help, she manages just four. This is enough to start her club, which she renames the Crafty Kids Club. In order to get members, she sets up a table during the club expo, and has a carton of glitter eggs on hand as invitations. There is a mishap when the wrong carton is brought out, but even this gooey mistake appeals to the third graders, and Olive, along with the other students in Mrs. Z's class like Emma, Rohan, Poppy, and Memo, look forward to sparkly recorder cases and more crafts!
Strengths: It's great that this series can be read out of order, although I'm sure there are some long suffering readers who have to wait a long time to get the next book if they want to read sequentially! Olive is an engaging character who loves her crafts, even if she miscalculates how many she can make before her early bedtime. I loved that she went to school early with her grandmother; what a lucky school to be able to serve banana pancakes for breakfast! Sally quilts, raises chickens, and often watches Olive's younger cousin Pete, adding to the interest. I wasn't aware that elementary schools had much in the way of clubs, but of course the fabulous Curiosity Academy does, and I would have been first in line (with my knitting project in first grade!)to sign up for Olive's Crafty Kids Club.
Weaknesses: Ms. Urban must be pro glitter! The idea of glitter eggs at school, and children cracking them over their heads, made me itchy, knowing how hard it would be to clean all that glitter up. Early elementary readers, however, will not share this fear.
What I really think: This series will be a hit with first through third graders, who will enjoy the various antics from the wide range of personalities. I keep reading them because the array of middle grade authors is so spectacular, but the series is really best suited for younger readers and wouldn't transfer well to older grades. Olive and her friends seem much younger than third grade to me.
July 8, 2025 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Olive Little is new to Curiosity Academy, but is enjoying it. Her grandmother, Sally, is a cook at the school and responsible for much of her care, since Olive's mother works the night shift. Olive loves crafts, and when she is tired of carrying her school issued recorder around in an old sock, she decides not only to make a sparkly new case, but to start a Cool Recorder Case Club. Josh, a fifth grader in charge of letting the third graders know about clubs, is a bit dismissive, but Olive doesn't let this stop her big plans. She's determined to make 18 cases, but even with Sally and her mother's help, she manages just four. This is enough to start her club, which she renames the Crafty Kids Club. In order to get members, she sets up a table during the club expo, and has a carton of glitter eggs on hand as invitations. There is a mishap when the wrong carton is brought out, but even this gooey mistake appeals to the third graders, and Olive, along with the other students in Mrs. Z's class like Emma, Rohan, Poppy, and Memo, look forward to sparkly recorder cases and more crafts!
Strengths: It's great that this series can be read out of order, although I'm sure there are some long suffering readers who have to wait a long time to get the next book if they want to read sequentially! Olive is an engaging character who loves her crafts, even if she miscalculates how many she can make before her early bedtime. I loved that she went to school early with her grandmother; what a lucky school to be able to serve banana pancakes for breakfast! Sally quilts, raises chickens, and often watches Olive's younger cousin Pete, adding to the interest. I wasn't aware that elementary schools had much in the way of clubs, but of course the fabulous Curiosity Academy does, and I would have been first in line (with my knitting project in first grade!)to sign up for Olive's Crafty Kids Club.
Weaknesses: Ms. Urban must be pro glitter! The idea of glitter eggs at school, and children cracking them over their heads, made me itchy, knowing how hard it would be to clean all that glitter up. Early elementary readers, however, will not share this fear.
What I really think: This series will be a hit with first through third graders, who will enjoy the various antics from the wide range of personalities. I keep reading them because the array of middle grade authors is so spectacular, but the series is really best suited for younger readers and wouldn't transfer well to older grades. Olive and her friends seem much younger than third grade to me.
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