What a Day It Was at School!

by Jack Prelutsky, Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Homework
(oh, dear!),
music,
a field trip
(hooray!),
science,
spelling
(gasp!),
gym,
a noisy mistake
(oops!).
And
friends,
books,
recess,
a food fight,
math,
the infirmary,
a visit,
history,
art,
show-and-tell . . . What a funny, outrageous,
exciting, incredible, silly,
extraordinary day it was at school!
Are you ready to read all about it?

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, School, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Back To School

40 pages, Library Binding

First published July 1, 2006

About the author

Jack Prelutsky is an American poet. He attended New York public schools, and later the High School of Music and Art and Hunter College. Prelutsky, who has also worked as a busboy, furniture mover, folk singer, and cab driver, claims that he hated poetry in grade school because of the way it was taught. He is the author of more than 30 poetry collections including Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep< and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. He has also compiled countless children's anthologies comprised of poems of others'. Jack Prelutsky was married to Von Tre Venefue, a woman he had met in France. They divorced in 1995, but Jack remarried. He currently lives in Washington state with his wife, Carolyn. He befriended a gay poet named Espiritu Salamanca in 1997 and both now work together in writing poems and stories for children and adults alike.

Reviews

[Christina/ The Blog for Teachers, Readers, & Life! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ages: 6-10 Years
U.S. Grades: First Grade-Fifth Grade
Poetry, School, Education, Juvenile, Poems

What a Day it Was at School is a hilarious collection of poems by Jack Prelutsky. When a cat mother asks her cat child how the day at school went, his response is a reading her the journal full of poems. This feline’s journal covers: music, gym, and art class, lunchtime madness (a food fight), going to the nurse, a field trip, a visit from an author named

Mister Hoobybatch, and so much more. Although this is outrageously funny, be careful not to give your students/children the wrong idea (it’s funny to start a food fight).

My favorite poems were:
My Backpack Weighs a Thousand Pounds (Most students can relate to this with all of their enormous, overweight books).

I Wish I’d Studied Harrder (This made me burst into laughter. The student wrote a poem, mostly misspelled, about how he/she wished he/she had studied harder for his “spellink” (spelling) test. And yes, that is how he/she spelled harder and spelling.)

It’s Library Time (The protagonist goes on adventures as he/she reads books in the library.)

I Know How to Add (The main character’s head is spinning as he tries to figure out complex math problems.)
Join the fun with these poems!

Awards/Recognition(s): Jack Prelutsky is a National Bestselling author, and Doug Cushman has won the 2005 Christopher Award for his artwork for Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the way this book was done--as a collection of poems in a notebook that a cat child is showing his mother in lieu of telling her about his day at school. The poems are full of the typical Prelutsky humor, accompanied by Doug Cushman's cute illustrations, also touched with humor (I love the snake with the backpack accompanying the poem about backpacks!). "I Made a Noise This Morning" will surely get kids giggling--the illustration is a dead giveaway as to the nature of the noise he made. Very entertaining.

[Selena Richins · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Day It Was at School! written by Jack Prelutsky’s a novel written in a form of poetry. This book has a storyline that follows throughout the whole book focused on one day of school. The book has a title in each page explaining what the page is going to be about, and then follows underneath the title with a poem about it. The book starts off with the cat being the main character and explaining to his mother about the day he had at school, she wants to hear all about it and he gives her a journal that he wrote it in. The journal is then depicted as the rest of the book and is focused on a certain topic of the day at school on each page. The day for the cat starts off a little rough, but as time goes on he realizes he has overcome the struggles and looks forward to going to school the next day. One thing that I would critique in the book What A Day It Was at School! would be giving a clearer introduction. When I first started reading the book I was confused by the first page, that I thought I had skipped a page and went back a page. But it actually was the first page. It could use an introduction explaining the cat’s and his mother’s conversation prior to just jumping into listening about his school day. I could use this book in a classroom by focusing on narrative poems. This book is a perfect example that could allow me to hold a discussion with the whole class of why its considered a narrative poem and then having the students provide examples from the book that prove it.

[Chelsea Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Day It Was at School! By Jack Prelutsky; Illustrated by Doug Cushman
This picture book is a combination of 17 poems along with bright and detailed illustrations. The poems are about the main character's long and adventurous day at school. The book starts off with two cats, a mother and child. The mom asks her child about his day at school. In response, he hands her his journal. On the front page of the journal, there is a table of contents that lists the names of poems. Each poem vividly describes a different scene throughout cat’s day at school. These are quite fantastic and humorous. They range from his day in music class to a field trip at the candy factory. The bright colors in the drawings add so much enthusiasm to the story. The poems are well constructed as well. Prelutsky’s poetry in this book has a very steady rhyme scheme but also does a great job of keeping the reader's attention. The poems and illustrations send the encouraging message that school can be difficult, but anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I highly recommend this book for children ages 5-8.

[Rebecca Palermo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
This was a book about the different situations that commonly occur in school in a poem form. The poems are different on each page and are written from the perspective of a student.

Evaluation:
These poems are fun for students to listen to because they are relatable. Students in a typical classroom would be engaged in this poetry book, however it would be difficult for independent reading. I believe with direction from the teacher this is can used in the classroom to provide comic relief.

Teaching Point:
I would use this book throughout the year in my classroom in days where different situations were occurring. I would use it to read to my students at the beginning of the day after the announcements to prepare students for the day on a positive note, or I would use it at the end of the day at the students prepared to pack up to get ready to go home.

[Nicole Schofield · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Day It Was at School includes 17 poems that students will enjoy reading. The poem is about a cats day at school. It goes from coming to school, having fun, learning math, a food fight and even to going to the nurses office. This book is appropriate for elementary students. (6-11 years old). I really liked this book of poems because I know the students will be able to relate to the poems. It is important to have books like this one that will keep the students engaged. There is humor in the poems which draws children's attention. I would use this book in my class in the beginning of the school year. I would read one poem from the book each day at our morning meeting as a way to start the day. Overall this book consisted of great poems.

[Ashley Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
This book is composed of 17 poems that describe a not-so-typical day at school. The poems express the emotions of a fictional character, who has many ups and downs throughout the school day.

Evaluation:
The pictures in this story are very expressive, showing the emotions of the character and his friends. The poems are also fun and easy to read.

Teaching Point:
This would be a great way to teach students about rhyming words. Students could get into pairs, each pair reading one poem from the book. The students could "search" for the rhyming words in each poem.

[Kisha Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awards: i didn't find any awards

Grade level: pk- 5

Summary: This funny story is about a rabbit day at school. It takes you through everything expected to happen in typical class day with a rabbit. A fun adventure with twist and turns with on page.

Review: A fun story for younger kids to enjoy. A tall tale of a rabbit's day which gets worse before it gets better.

In class use: In a literacy program or circle time.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/5/2016 * Great for orientation (10 minute rotations) on very first library visit. I read the back pack poem, the library poem, and the maracas poem. I used this with the K-3 groups.

[Siarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book includes many great poems about different elements of attending school, such as having a heavy backpack, going on a field trip, going to the nurse's office, and completing a science project. Each poem had good rhythm and covered very relevant topics for students going to school. The illustrations gave the reader a picture to go to with the poem that made it more interesting to read. I would use this book of poems in my future classroom by selecting one of the poems that would be relevant to something occurring in class and perform a read-aloud. For example, when doing mathematics in school, I could read the poem that is about doing math problems in this story to the students prior to starting mathematic instruction.

[Kate]

What a Day It Was At School is a book of short poems that all connect with going to school. There are 17 poems in the book. Each of them is a short paragraph or two and has a picture that connects to them. I really like how there is a picture with each one so children can see what they are doing while listening to the story. The illustrations on each page are very bright and colorful.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fun with all the rhymes it talks about a boy who a cat that goes to school with other animals and how his school life is from joking around to learning math and even getting sick and going to the nurse i think kids can connect with this book very well

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this picture book are 17 enjoyable poems in great rhyme and nicely illustrated. A few of the titles are: My Backpack Weighs a Thousand Pounds; I Made a Noise This Morning; In the Cafeteria; I'm Learning Our History; Show-and-Tell.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Prelutsky is my absolute, all-time favorite poet! This collection is all based on or around school. My favorite poem is "It's Library Time" (I'm a children's librarian after all!) but all of them are delightful!

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poetry!!!!!

[LaRae Steen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Birthday Jack Prelutsky -- September 8, 1940

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiction. This book can be used for students on the first day of class to show them how the school year might be and what some students may experience.

[IUS-F19 Bryce Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a collection of poems in the notebook. Nice little story about his day at school

[Mallory Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good and fun poetry book. All about things students can relate to in school.

[Maddie Buell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one. The kids liked the rhymes. It was also a good opportunity to talk about procedures in different parts of school, as each poem takes place in a different part of the school day.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book with easy poems for kids.

[Alessandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the physical copy to my little one. It was eh. He wasn’t really interested in it.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and rhymes

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher picked this book out from the school library. It's a collection of poems about school. We didn't read all of them, but he did read me quite a few. It was so cute to listen to him read poetry. He did such a great job with the cadence and the rhyming. We skipped one poem during our first reading because it was about going on a field trip the day before. We saved it for the day after his class field trip. That was pretty special.

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[(NS) Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains 17 poems about joys and dilemmas that occur during the school day. The Poems discus the ups and downs of completing homework and assignments, overloaded backpacks, the sweet sounds of music class, invigorating author visits, gym partners, and cafeteria food fights. Lively and fun, with perfect examples and loads of interesting word choices, these poems are wonderful for class read-alouds. The picture create an engaging school environment with adorable colorful cartoon animal characters that match the author’s silly and energetic verses. This school themed collection is perfect to incorporate into an elementary classroom.

I don’t know how I have not had this poem book in my first grade classroom for the past 4 years! I absolutely loved every page of it. The poems are true to the minds of students, silly, and filled with energy. The reader is guaranteed to come back wanting to read or hear more. The poems cover the perfect topics that are familiar to all students, such as heavy backpacks, teacher’s pets, field trips, homework frustrations, and much more. It also made me smile thinking back to my childhood year and the same feelings towards the adventures of the school day. I especially like the poems about the truthful ups and downs that life of a student brings. I think this is a fantastic book to read to students when introducing new subjects, since a variety of them are written about in this book. Of course these subjects are written in a humorous way and includes illustrations that show accurate feelings, expressions, and of course are silly. I am not one to normally love reading poetry, however, this book left me laughing and excited to read more!

[Nicole Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What a Day It Was at School!" is an amazing poetry book for third through fifth graders! Jack Prelutsky does an amazing job, as always, of entrancing the reader in his stories and making one feel as if he/she is experiencing the day at school along with the characters. Doug Cushman's beautiful illustrations only add to Prelutsky's quality poems. Just to reference a few, "My Backpack Weighs A Thousand Pounds," "I Tried to Do My Homework,"I Made A Noise This Morning," and "I Drew a Yellow Unicorn" are some of my personal favorites! The poems are about a boy who's bookbag is so heavy that endlessly struggles with a heavy bookbag, and even though his teacher says he needs everything in it, that still doesn't make it easy. "I Made a Noise This Morning" is about how he accidentally passed gas, and all of the children in the class thought it was so funny (something everyone in the class can relate to!) and even though he felt bad about it, he knew it was actually impressive. Each poem is only around 15-30 lines long, with only a few words in each line, so it would be a great tool to use to introduce a poetry unit to younger children. Each poem has rhyming words and a format that makes it easy to follow, so the basics of poetry could definitely be displayed through this book! "What a Day It was at School" also could be used as a time for the teacher to read one poem each morning, maybe during the poetry unit, just to help the students transition from home to school, and provide entertainment through a quick read-aloud. Practicing with this amazingly animated book would also be a good way to develop inflection and tone on their own during independent reading!

[(NS) Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this book of school poems on my shelf for my 2 years and haven't read it yet. After reading it I was mad at myself for not reading this book of poems on the first few weeks of school to my students. This is a great book about events happening at school. Jack Prelutsky is one of my favorite authors which has written many books. Some of the selection of the poems are fantasy and others are realistic poems. This author is always making me laugh by the choice of his words and the rhythms in his poetry.

These poems are great to read for a wonderful read-aloud. I know my kindergarten students will love to hear about " A Man named Mister Hoobybatch" the name itself would have my students laughing because it's so "unique" Another poem that I enjoyed reading was " My Backpack Weighs a Thousands Pounds" I was able to relate to this poem as a middle and high school student. I had so much stuff to carry in my backpack, wishing it would be lighter! I remembering having to "rest" before going up the stairs with my backpack. I was laughing and smiling and relating to my experience. I really enjoyed reading these poems and would highly recommend it to others.

[Heather Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a book of poems. This is a good book to introduce chapter books or other books that have table of contents. The book has all the poems listed in the table of contents and has the page number to each poem. Children can practice looking for the poem they would like to read and using the table of contents to get there.
There is a poem in the book called "I wish I'd studied harrder" it's talking about a spelling test that the character had and he doesn't think he passed because he didn't study hard enough. Throughout the poem words are randomly misspelled, for example, "sorrie,graid, beleeve, etc." That was a fun poem to read, but this book would have to be for an older child so that they can understand that they are spelled wrong on purpose.
This would be a great book for the beginning of a school year, this will be a different way to introduce different parts of the school and what they might do while in school. There's a poem about the infirmary, the library, a guest in school, field trips, math, etc.

[Adam Glasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Day It Was at School, written by award-winning children’s poet Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Doug Cushman, is a collection of children’s poems all about different parts of the school day. Although each poem is written about a different routine of school, such as P.E., library time, and math class, the poems are all entertaining and humorous, and many have witty endings. For example, after the main character lists all of reasons he needs to go to the nurse’s office, he reveals he wouldn't be so sick if he had just done his homework!
This book would make an excellent read aloud option for the first and second grade. Since the poems all revolve around relatable topics for elementary school students, this would be a perfect choice to introduce a poetry-writing unit. This book demonstrates that poems are not all about abstract ideas, rather poems can be about anything, including everyday activities like math class! This book could be paired with other Jack Prelusky books, such as Good Sports, which offer even more poems that kids can easily relate to.

[(NS) - Heather Hayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that I would have gotten my hand on this wonderful poem book sooner, written by acclaimed author Jack Prelutsky. This poetry book is written in journal form by a colorful cat, and his 17 poems about everyday life and issues within a school setting. It is a nice mix of fantasy and realism in this slapstick piece of writing. This school themed collection of poetry is guaranteed to be a hit amongst elementary school teachers for use within the classroom.

I have to admit that I actually went out and bought this book the other day. I have started reading one poem to my students each day, and they beg me for more. These silly stories filled with lively animal characters are bound to fill up the entire room in an uproar of giggles. I think this particular poetry book is also a great way to kick off the school year. It is also a wonderful way to provide children to exposure with this type of material since it is easy for them to relate to the theme.