“It’s our bad luck to have teachers in this world, but since we’re stuck with them, the best we can do is hope to get a brand-new one instead of a mean old fart.”

Peter opens the novel with a demonstration of the colloquial language used by student narrators throughout the story. Each student has a unique voice that appears through variations in vocabulary and tone across individual sections of the narrative. Peter gets his wish this year—Mr. Terupt is brand-new, but his inexperience comes under scrutiny when he lets a snow fight get out control on the playground.

“This year, for the first time in my life, I started thinking school could be fun.” 

Peter’s narrative quickly demonstrates the impact Mr. Terupt has on his students. On the very first day of school, Mr. Terupt manages to respond to Peter’s class’ clowning in a manner that resonates with Peter and gets him excited about school. Where other teachers may have reprimanded Peter for his classroom behavior, Mr. Terupt makes a joke to put Peter in his place. Peter respects Mr. Terupt for this approach, but it sets the stage for Peter’s antics to get increasingly out of hand as the novel progresses. 

“I couldn’t believe it. My teacher was new, too. And he liked what I was reading. I don’t know why, but somehow he made my butterflies disappear and my tongue shrink. Things were going to be okay.”

Mr. Terupt has a quick impact on Jessica before she even sits down on the first day.