School Days: Fancy Nancy: Fancy Day in Room 1-A by Jane O'Connor

I AM PEERING OUT THE WINDOW OF MY CLASSROOM. (PEERING IS A FANCY WORD FOR LOOKING.)

IT HAS RAINED ALL WEEK. WE CAN'T PLAY OUTSIDE.

MS. GLASS IS READING A STORY.

EVERYBODY IS LOOKING GLUM AND GLOOMY.(THAT'S A FANCY WAY TO SAY WE ARE IN A BAD MOOD.)

The gray weather is getting Room 1-A down. Even Ms. Glass has lost her sparkle--but not her master teacher chops!

"CLASS, WE NEED SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO," SAYS MS. GLASS.

"DOES ANYBODY HAVE NEW IDEAS?"

And of course Nancy Clancy has an idea--a Fancy Day in Room 1-A. Everyone loves to dress up in imaginative and outlandish getups, and soon everyone in the class is excited. The big Fancy Day is scheduled for the following Monday, and the kids in Room 1-A are energized and motivated, throwing themselves into the goal of getting their necessary lessons done to make time for a fancy party day.

Nancy, of course, is in her glory. Her ingenious mind buzzes with costume accessories--boas and beads and lots of frou-frou--and caterer-in-chief Nancy leads the group in designing special place mats and napkin rings from pipe cleaners for the fancy refreshments everyone is bringing. Even Lionel is intrigued with making a his crown, topped with bloody shark's teeth. Ms. Glaser parries questions about her own fancy get-up with a gentle, but secretive, "wait and see" smile.

Finally, Monday rolls around. Everyone is dressed to the nines in layers of fanciness and at school early, eager to start their big day. But where is Ms. Glaser?

And when their teacher arrives, late and flustered, she's the only one who isn't fancy. She apologizes to the class, explaining that she had an emergency and left home at dawn to see the dentist, leaving her costume behind. She's even plainer than usual, and she is obviously feeling bad about her lack of fanciness.

But Nancy & Company come through. Nancy quickly suggests a solution, and soon Ms. Glass is fully fancied-up, with a costume contribution from everyone.

"MERCI!"

It takes more than rainy days and Mondays to get this girl down, and there are no more rainy day blues in Room 1-A in Jane O'Connor's latest Fancy Nancy adventure, Fancy Nancy: Fancy Day in Room 1-A (I Can Read Book 1) (Harper, 2012).