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lornahetherington's review
3.0
Heard it in the Playground is a collection of poems based on primary school life. The book is presented in three sections: short poems, songs and long poems. The collection is mostly light-hearted and humorous covering everything from grumpy teachers to the school’s escapee pet hamster.
The stand out poems are obviously ‘Heard it in the Playground’, which reads out almost rap-like. As well as, ‘The Boy Without a Name’ which follows more of a sombre tone and stays etched within the memory. The charming illustrations dotted around the pages help bring the poetry to life are a joy to look at. On the down side, some of the text content is a little out-dated and perhaps considered even a little inappropriate nowadays.
This book would be good for key stage 2 children and the school setting makes it very relatable. The author’s notes are a useful accompaniment, especially if the book were to be used in the classroom. Ahlberg suggests music to set the songs to and that ‘Heard it in the Playground’ could be performed as a class. A few spare minutes in between lessons would be an ideal time to read aloud one of the poems or songs.
The stand out poems are obviously ‘Heard it in the Playground’, which reads out almost rap-like. As well as, ‘The Boy Without a Name’ which follows more of a sombre tone and stays etched within the memory. The charming illustrations dotted around the pages help bring the poetry to life are a joy to look at. On the down side, some of the text content is a little out-dated and perhaps considered even a little inappropriate nowadays.
This book would be good for key stage 2 children and the school setting makes it very relatable. The author’s notes are a useful accompaniment, especially if the book were to be used in the classroom. Ahlberg suggests music to set the songs to and that ‘Heard it in the Playground’ could be performed as a class. A few spare minutes in between lessons would be an ideal time to read aloud one of the poems or songs.
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