George Brown, Class Clown 9 – Dance Your Pants Off!

Nancy Krulik's Dance Your Pants Off is a funny school story for 6 year olds about a teacher who lands a spot on a TV dance show and a boy who really, REALLY hates dancing.

What happens

This is the ninth George Brown, Class Clown book. Mrs Kelly loves to dance. She starts the class's ancient Egypt topic by making everyone do the Walk Like an Egyptian dance, in a crooked black wig with a snake crown on top.

Then she drops her big news. She's going to be on a brand-new dance contest on the telly, and she'll be away from school for as long as the judges keep voting her through.

George isn't convinced she'll last one night. He's seen her rehearsing (stuck halfway through a somersault with her bottom in the air, which he'd very much like to forget). But the class end up cheering her on anyway, with posters all over town.

And then there's the burp. George's wish on a shooting star only half came true, which is how he ended up with a burp that's magic. When it escapes, it's in charge. Here it has him slithering round the floor of the pet shop where he helps out on Saturdays, hissing like a snake at a film camera. In PE it turns him into a wrestling superstar, and the person he lands on is Louie.

The grown-ups are half the fun. Mrs Kelly's first name turns out to be Mildred, which George finds hilarious. The gym teacher covering her class teaches ancient Egypt through handball. Louie has started his own webcast about himself, and it's exactly as awful as you'd hope.

So what happens when the class goes to watch the show being filmed? You can probably guess who wants to join in.

The jokes come thick and fast, and George's inside voice is very cheeky about the adults around him. If your reader groans every time a grown-up says "let's dance", they'll be right there with him.

What to read next

If they're enjoying the series, Attack of the Tighty Whities has George trying to win the county spelling bee with the burp waiting for its moment.