The Principal Chronicles: The Third One's a Charm
by David Garlick

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David Garlick returns with the final installment—he pinky-swears!—of the Principal Chronicles. Like the first two books in this series, The Principal Chronicles: The Third One’s a Charm is funny and heartfelt. These mostly true stories show David in (and out of) action, like “The Cost of Being a Good Neighbour,” when an innocent misunderstanding escalates, or “Lauren Bacall and the Cotton Swab,” when David learns the dangers of cotton swabs and slippery floors. Readers will even see their favourite—and not-so-favourite characters return. In “One of the Best Saturday Afternoons,” Miss Wakely is livelier than ever (how old is she?) and eager to squeeze every ounce of joy from her students. Ken, brother and bother, might be less of a villain this time around but is still his mischievous self. And Janice finally shares the spotlight with her brothers, though maybe not in the way she’d hope. Whether sharing childhood shenanigans or adult blunders, The Principal Chronicles: The Third One’s a Charm illuminates how education has shaped David’s entire life. In many ways, his career was inevitable. But that never made it predictable or unsatisfying. Far from it. Readers will delight in seeing stories from the brighter side of education from an educator who’s seen it all, or at least a lot of it.

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Praise for The Principal Chronicles Two: “Reminiscent of David Sedaris - particularly in his dry humour and vignette-style storytelling.” -—CANREADS Book Review

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David Garlick is a retired high school principal, who spent fourteen years of his thirty-three-year career in this role. Since retiring, he enjoys writing about his adventures in education, much to his wife’s delight. (It keeps him busy!) He is the author of The Principal Chronicles (2021) and The Principal Chronicles: Two/Too/II/As Well (2024). His second book was a spotlight recipient in the 2026 CANREADS Awards, and his short story “One of the Best Saturday Afternoons” was longlisted in the Leicester Writes Short Story Competition, 2025. The Principal Chronicles: The Third One’s a Charm is his third book. When he’s not writing and travelling, David volunteers for Windsor Goodfellows and teaches courses for Unicom and Elder College, among other community activities. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, with his wife.

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Contributors

Author

David Garlick

Illustrator

Lindsay Chasten