Brief Review:

The Recess Queen is about a young girl who is a bully to her classmates. She is not liked very much by her peers because of this, but before the students went on school break another girl was assigned to work on a project with the Recess queen and learned why she does what she does.

Idea of how it can be used in a classroom:

The Recess Queen could be used to show students just because someone is being a bully it doesn’t mean that they are a horrible person and they might be, being treated that way at home. The teacher could have the students write/discuss about a time where someone wasn’t nice to you and it made you want to do the same to others because you needed a way out of it too or have the students write about a time where they were the bully or the bullied.

Reading Level & Leveling System:

Lexile Scale

AD550L

Pre-k to 2^nd

Book Rating:

I would rate this book a 5 because it shows the students the different perspective of why the Recess Queen was doing what she was doing and I think would let the students be a little more understanding of their peers and know that they really don’t know what each other is going through at home and its best to try to understand where each other are coming from.

Mean Jean is the Recess Queen. Every day at recess, Mean Jean blasts through the playground to swing, kick, and bounce before everybody else. "Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced." Until one day, Katie Sue arrives. Katie Sue, unaware of the playground rules, swung before Mean Jean swung, kicked before Mean Jean kicked, and bounced before Mean Jean bounced. Katie Sue then offers Mean Jean an invitation to play together. 

 

In my classroom, I would have students, in groups, complete a character trait analysis on Mean Jean and Katie Sue. The students will compare and contrast the two characters based on texts and illustrations. 

 

AR Level: 3.0

Last year around this same time I fell into a bit of a reading slump (yes, it happens to everyone) and I picked up a little comics selection called Comics Squad: Detention hoping that it would revive me. I'm happy to say that it did the trick. Thinking lightning might strike twice, I delved into Comics Squad: Recess! by Jennifer L. Holm, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Dan Santat, & Raina Telgemeier which is another book from this collection. This book explores the theme of recess with the authors/illustrators charged with coming up with stories which somehow incorporated this theme. (Some accomplished this feat more successfully than others as a few barely mentioned recess at all.) I especially enjoyed the last 2 stories both visually and from a narrative standpoint. (If you're curious, the two stories are "300 Words" by Dan Santat which was a love story and "The Rainy Day Monitor" by Raina Telgemeier & Dave Roman which was about a RPG kickball game.) I like recommending this series to burgeoning graphic novel/comics fans since it contains a variety of storytelling and art styles to give them a better idea of what they might like. This is a great idea for anyone, regardless of age, who might be interested in sampling different writers and illustrators. 8/10 overall and certainly wouldn't say no to reading more from this series (or from the two artists mentioned).

 

What I'm Currently Reading: El Deafo by Cece Bell

Recess Is a Jungle! - Jack Chabert I was so happy once I finished Recess is a Jungle. I had found a new kids horror author to follow! And then in the process of writing the review, I found out that Jack Chabert doesn’t exist. It’s actually the pen name for another kids horror author that I’ve come to respect. Max Brallier. Max Brallier and Sam Ricks make a great team in this early chapter reader from Scholastic. Clear, nice-sized font and illustrations that perfectly tell readers that might be struggling with some words what is going on. The illustrations are included in various ways. Sometimes they are full page illustrations that the text is printed over, sometimes a boxed picture, etc. It never gets visually boring.

Though this is the third book in the series, it functions perfectly fine as a standalone. Sam is a Hall Monitor for a school that is an evil entity. Orson Eerie found a way to become immortal through becoming the school itself. The school that feeds on kids. (The grown up part of me goes “Yep, someone should have noticed the kids disappearing regularly”, but my inner child goes “See?! SEE?! Schools are evil!”) He, along with his friends Lucy and Atonio, are charged with trying to keep the kids safe while they attend school. Well, in Recess is a Jungle, they find out that there is still a lot to learn about Orson and how far his evil reach extends.

One of the many nice things about Recess is a Jungle is the story line is actually kind of creepy. That, and Jack/Max doesn’t shy away from putting his trio in possible danger. The three of them use their intelligence and their bravery to find their way through the various obstacles to find a way to save the students once again. Also, even though Sam does save Lucy at one point, the relationship between all three of them feels equal.

Overall, Recess is a Jungle is a fantastic early chapter reader that I whole-heartedly recommend. The author and illustrator both respect children’s abilities to handle a little creepiness. It’s an atmospheric read that is fun for both kids and adults.

This review originally appeared on Sci-Fi & Scary Reviews.

The Recess Queen is a fun story to read to lower elementary grades. It is a story of a girl they call Mean Jean and how she treats others at recess. There are a variety of directions you could take this book. One is to have the students analyze the character of Mean Jean and tell how she is a bully. Also, the students could dig deeper into the central message of the story and the details that support that.

 

Lexile Level: AD450L