The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill Reviewed by Alyse Decker

I grew up loving books that I could picture myself being a part of. The book I choose to review, The Recess Queen is an excellent story that gives children the opportunity to walk in someone elses shoes. The book The Recess Queen is an adorable story about a big recess bully named Mean Jean. "Nobody Swung until Mean Jean Swung, nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked, nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced." All this ended when a new kid came to school, teeny tiny Katie Sue. When the recess bell rings on Katie Sue's first day of school, she ignores Mean Jean's rules and begins to play on the playground wherever she wants whenever she wants. The rest of the class is speechless and horrified that Mean Jean will, "Push her, smoosh her, lollapalossh her, hammer her, slammer her, kitz and kajammer her!" Unexpectedly, Katie Sue, reaches into her back pack, pulls out a jump rope and asks Mean Jean if she would like to jump with her. This was the first time anyone dared to ask Mean Jean to play. After some encouragement from Katie Sue and the rest of the class Mean Jean jumps with Katie. After that day, Jean no longer bullies the class at recess time because she is too busy playing with her friends.

I absolutely loved this book. The pictures were so colorful and fun, the rhyming words, and the great use of onomatopoeia leave every reader laughing, no matter how old they are. A great lesson about bullying, sharing, and being friends with everyone could follow this book. The book could also introduce an activity on rhyming or how to use words to represent sounds. As a teacher, I will definitely read The Recess Queen early on in the year because it is filled with important life messages and most of all, it is so much fun to read!