School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-This addition to the series follows the Geyser Creek Middle School kids to seventh grade where they have to take the dreaded BEEs-Basic Education Evaluation. If the students do not pass, they must repeat all of middle school. And to make matters worse, their teacher, Sam N., is filling in for Mr. Russ as principal. But not to worry-he has enlisted the help of Florence Waters, fountain designer, as substitute teacher. She teaches the class via correspondence, sending assignments to the children while she's off gathering more information about bees to share with them. The story follows the series format of using letters, notes, faxes, and other correspondence to relate the goings-on. As the events progress, the students share their concerns about boyfriends/girlfriends and the upcoming dance. They also learn to have some compassion for a class whose teacher is using some underhanded methods to insure her students win the coveted Show Me Spelling Bee. Fans of the series will appreciate this installment, reluctant readers will be drawn to the format, and more advanced readers will appreciate the wordplay and puns sprinkled throughout.-Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Showing no signs of fatigue, the Regarding series hums into its fifth episode amid the usual bustle of angst-ridden subplots, crossed purposes, shady goings-on and painless pedagogy. The busy seventh graders of Geyser Creek Middle School face two sticky challenges before first semester break: the statewide, Show-Me Spelling Bee and the Basic Education Evaluation test (BEE), failure in which entails demotion to fifth grade. Fortunately, their teacher is none other than queen bee Florence Waters. Unfortunately, she's teaching in absentia, mailing in assignments, advice and the occasional buzzing box as she flits around the world. This premise suits the epistolary format (supplemented by pen-and-ink vignettes, a sign-language alphabet and teacher's desk tableaus) bee-utifully, while making for plenty of misunderstandings and comical complications. Meanwhile, waxy buildup has come between substitute Principal Sam N. and his expecting wife Goldie Fish-N., the traditional seventh-grade New Year's Eve Dance may be cancelled and is there some c-h-e-a-t-i-n-g going on with the reigning spelling champs of rival teacher Polly Nader? Yes, as it turns out, but the Klises ultimately dish out just deserts all round, along with sweet dollops of bee lore and life coaching. (Fiction. 8-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In the latest in the uproarious series that began with Regarding the Fountain (1998), the kids, now in seventh grade, face the dreaded Basic Education Evaluation (BEE) standardized test while their beloved substitute teacher is out of town. Even for this wild series, it's hard to accept that the class is being taught by correspondence, but the letters back and forth are fast and funny, and as usual, the pages include lots of lively cartoons and hand-written notes. Best of all is the farce about the test as the buzz increases and the teacher refuses to teach to the BEE.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2007 Booklist
