School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-The fall term at Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents is just beginning, and the girls are back for more Rapscott-style learning and lessons. After being packed and shipped in convenient, self-addressed boxes (because their parents are just so busy), the girls magically fly to the school. The girls are sent into a tailspin of learning led by the ever-positive Ms. Rapscott and her two faithful corgi assistants, Lewis and Clark. This year's curriculum includes How To Cure a Case of Hurt Feelings, How To Share, and To Go Far in Life You Must Get Used to Disappointment. Although there are plenty of lessons to be learned along the way, there is an underlying theme of understanding others and oneself. This sequel to the popular Ms. Rapscott's Girls is full of quirky humor. Primavera uses the same soft pencil artwork seen in the previous volume to sketch the tale into life. Here the characters become further developed and relatable. For those who read and enjoyed the first installment, this sequel enhances the story, gives deeper life to characters, and provides a greater depth in the novel's setting. VERDICT Purchase where there are fans of the first book.-Brittney Kosev, Honey/Rush Elementary, Lubbock, TX © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The daughters of very busy parents reunite with Ms. Rapscott (Ms. Rapscott's Girls) for a second semester. With the benevolent assistance of two sweater-wearing corgis named Lewis and Clark, the girls learn life lessons through whimsical adventure and somewhat controlled chaos. Each character is granted time to shine, while pencil illustrations soften the lessons and add to the humor. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Welcome back to the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents!The fall semesters lesson: How to Go Far in Life; the goal: to earn the Great Rapscott Medal for Reaching The Top. As the offbeat Ms. Rapscott reasons, you cannot reach The Top unless you go far, but you must also fail several times in the attempt by making mistakes on purpose. However, there is only one place to begin: The Bottom. This time, Bea, Mildred, Annabelle, and Dahlia are present and accounted for, while Fay, having failed in the best possible way, is accidentally delivered to The Top on her way to school. With her signature quirky logic, Ms. Rapscott also teaches the girls How to Celebrate a Birthday and How to Make a Bad Day Good. As in the first book, Ms. Rapscatts Girls (2015), the emphasis is on building a tone that combines the merry and the Gothic rather than on deep character development The novel hits a pothole with its lack of racial diversity; theres a brief reference to former students being of every color, size, and shape, but hazy descriptions support inferences that the characters are white, an impression reinforced by the black-and-white illustrations. A spot of body diversity labels Mildred as plump, but her fatness is a source of shame. A reading of the first book is a must in order to fully enjoy and appreciate this unpretentiously lesson-drenched sequel.nbsp;(Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
With one semester at the Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents tucked under their belts, timid Mildred, plucky Bea, and no-nonsense Annabelle are back for a second semester. But where's Fay? And now wistful Dahlia Thistle, who got lost on her way to school last semester has joined them. So the students have been mixed a bit, but Ms. Rapscott is as brisk and bracing a teacher as ever, and Lewis and Clark, her turtlenecked corgis, are as efficient as they are dashing. In this sequel to Ms. Rapscott's Girls (2015), the gang is on a mission to Get to the Top, but they must start at the bottom. There is a whirlwind of action here (literally, as almost every chapter is set against the tumult of a new hurricane), but the satisfying character development of each student is what charms. Tucked into the adventures (of which there are many!) are important lessons. As Ms. Rapscott admonishes: life is like a hurricane knocking you off your feet, but you must always put on your rain bonnet and enjoy the ride! --Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2016 Booklist
