Messing Around on the Monkey Bars

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices

Written by Betsy Franco

Illustrated by Jessie Hartland

Published by Candlewick Press

Copyright 2009

48 pages

Poetry

Messing Around the Monkey Bars is a book of school-related poems. The topics of the poems range from riding the bus to the lost and found. What can be found in the lost and found? What happens when the teacher does not pay attention?

            Jessie Hartland used gouache to illustrate the book. The colorful illustrations look like they were drawn by children, which will appeal to young students. The illustrations help students relate to the poems about school. The illustrations help tell the stories in the poems.

            Messing Around the Monkey Bars could be used in a second or third grade classroom. The book could be used for a character education lesson. The teacher could read “New Kid at School” and discuss how students could make a new student feel welcome. It could also be used for a science lesson. The teacher could read “Anatomy Class” before the students learn about parts of the body. This book could also be used for a math lesson. The teacher could read “Lunch Money” to the students before they learn about money. This book won a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books award.