Module 5: Book Review 13-Performance Poetry

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

Bibliography

Franco, B. & Hartland, J. (2009) Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763631741

Summary

In this delightful collection of feet tapping, leg slapping, rhyming fun, enjoy nineteen energetic poems by Betsy Franco that will have you reading them repeatedly.  Share in wild bus rides, school reports, recess, and other school day topics with Messing Around on the Monkey Bars.  Enjoy reading and performing the poems with a partner, a group, or by yourself and find the rhythm and beat in each one.  Appreciate the illustrations by Jessie Hartland that are amusing, child-like, and fit perfectly with each poem.  This book is hilarious and sweet and will definitely be apart of your school poetry collection.

Analysis

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars is a collection of nineteen poems with an excellent amount of different poetic elements used.  From the rhyming words found in several of the poems such as New Kid at School, I Can’t Wait, and Lunch Money, to the fun rhythm offered in Wild Bus Ride and Backboard Rap, this text is perfect for a younger age group.  Another, fun poetic element used is onomatopoeia.  Used in Whirr, Whirr, Zing, Zap, where the words resemble the sound it is describing, “whirr, whirr/a spinning fan/ zing, zap/a rubber band/ thud, bonk/ a math book falls/ boing, boing/a rubber ball,” teachers and students will enjoy reading aloud the poem and many others. 

With the numerous amounts of poetic elements used throughout the book, Messing Around on the Monkey Bars is ideal for ages six to ten, or grades 1^st through 4^th.  Students will also appreciate the story the book tells, about the daily activities in a typical school day in an energetic way.  This adds playfulness and magic to the poems and makes it very relatable.  This is another reason why students and teachers at that age group will want to get their hands on it.

Franco did a phenomenal job at writing each poem with simple words that make it easy enough for children to read.  Not only can students choose to read each poem alone, but also with a partner, or even a group.  Included at the front is an author’s note that provides information on how to read the poems.  Also added at the end of the book is a section entitled “Adventurous Ways to Read the Poems.”  This back matter was helpful because it provided other ways to read specific poems from the story.  Including these pieces gives the reader different approaches to read the poems which is a great addition to the book. 

This book is an exceptional piece to include into a poetry collection.  It is fun and spirited, and in ways accurate, to an elementary student’s school day, with added energy.  Readers of all ages will get much delight out of Messing Around on the Monkey Bars. 

Excerpt

Use

I would use this poem as a fun performance piece with the whole class.  Using pencils, students would tap their pencils on their table while chanting/reading the words in bold.  In the last stanza, I would have six students perform the movements that include bopping, hopping, snapping, clapping, etc. while the rest of the class is still tapping their pencils and chanting the words.  On the last line, students will emphasize the words tappity-tapping with a louder voice.