The famous knocker-upper that I just learned about Mary Smith is the funniest and coolest story I have read yet. She wakes up before the sun is up and shoots dried wrinkly peas to sleeping peoples windows, and she continue to through peas until they get out of bed, turn on their light, and say they are up (I need an alarm clock like that). This story shows the unknown story of the past that no one knew they needed to know. When Mary Smith has woken up everyone in town she proudly walks home, just to see that her own daughter is still in bed! The story ends in a very funny way of the mother teacher her daughter how to shoot peas, and the last page has a very short history on the amazing and important job of a knocker-up. ( )

Mary Smith is a woman who wakes up hours before dawn to wake everyone in the town with a straw and a pea. She blows into her straw and blows the peas to wake up the people. At first, I thought why would someone be responsible to do this? How does she wake herself up? But when I read the informational text after the book, I learned that people back in the day hired someone to wake them up. In the end of the book, Mary Smith's daughter gets in trouble by accidentally shooting a pea to her teacher. I do not think I would read this to my kids because I would not want them to think it is OK to shoot anything from a straw because it is now mostly frowned upon. ( )

this story is a biographical attempt explainig what Mary Smith's job was in her village. This story tells young readers how the world managed before all these electronics and invention. this is an enjoyable book with beautiful illustrations. ( )

What an unusual occupation this woman has. Mary Smith has a job that was replaced when alarm clocks were invented. She walks about town shooting peas at windows to wake people up. Certainly a good a picture books to interest children in reading and to get them back in the swing of things at the start of the school year. A good read aloud for upper elementary.