#14

Revenge of the Lunch Ladies
Poems by Kenn Nesbitt
Illustrations by Mike & Carl Gordon
Meadowbrook Press
2007
73 pages

Poetry

“I think you’ll find it easier to do the work instead.”

            As soon as we talked about this book of poems in class, I had to go buy it for my future classroom. From the revenge of the lunch ladies for complaining about the cafeteria food to science homework eating a dog, this book is sure to have you laughing. My favorite poem in the book is “Let Me Out of the Classroom,” which is sung to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” There are always a few students who are anxious to get out of the classroom. They always ask how much longer they have until they get to go to lunch or recess. This poem begins with a student trying to get out of class, but then when he finds out that his mother is there to pick him up for his yearly dentist appointment, he begs to stay.

            The cover of this book is printed in color, but the pages of the book are black and white. This book has a single image cover, with a small illustration on the back. This book of poems has a table of contents so that you can look up a specific poem. With double spread illustrations, the pictures lead from one page to the next. This book has informal text placement, making the text fit into the pictures.

This hilarious book of school poetry is great for school-aged children. As we discussed in class, this book would be perfect to have in a classroom library. Students could read the poems in their spare time, or the teacher could read the class a poem a day. After reading a poem, students could write a funny poem of their own about school. The teacher would have to set rules that no one could or would be offended by a poem that a student would write. The teacher could collect the poems that the class would write and make their own book with a similar silly title to keep in the classroom. Although this book has not been awarded any medals or honors, I would recommend it to anyone.