Here Be Monsters

Monster School by Kate Coombs ill Lee Gatlin

Coombs has applied her considerable talent for creating clever rhymes to the subject of monsters. In this collection, the monsters are students. Common school occurrences are given a slightly macabre twist: a science fair project created by Frankenstein’s grandson, baseball played in the graveyard, a student who constantly misplaces school supplies in addition to losing his body parts. ​These clever and entertaining riffs are monstrously fun.

Verses include a variety of poetic forms and rhyme schemes. Most patterns are predictable, making it easy for students to sense the rhythm and rhyme within each stanza. 

Gatlin captures the zany shenanigans happening at Monster School with full page illustrations. Muted autumn shades of grays, browns, and greens make the ghostly white faces and eyeballs pop out of each page

School is in Session

These poems are too delightful to keep to oneself. They beg to be shared. How about creating some puppets based on the monsters depicted throughout the pages? Gather up a handful of craft supplies, a copy of the book, and a fertile imagination. Viola! You have the beginnings of one monstrously good puppet show. There are endless possibilities for puppets: finger, sock, glove, stick, paper sack, or create something more inventive. The choice depends on what is on hand and the skill level of the puppet makers.

A few of the craft supplies that I assembled: foam squares, felt, yarn, pom poms, chenille stems, goggly eyes, yarn, and even some corn husks. Add some wooden skewer sticks and hot glue gun.  Operation Frankenstein-esque Creature Lab was underway.

This would make an engaging activity for middle grade students. After reading Monster School, students could select verses to share with younger students. Construct puppets to match the characters in the poem. Then design a creepy-looking school backdrop and prepare for a spook-tacular performance. Tweens sharing poetry with younger students doubles the book’s potential audience.

I looked for clues in the text to help create my puppets. The head of snakes featured in "Hair Care" was made with chenille stems, shaped by twisting them around a pencil. I used tiny green buttons for the snakes' heads. The purple hair mentioned in "Monster Mash" is a scrap of tulle, tied off at intervals. The hair for "Song of the Freckles" does not follow the image in the book because.... we had some fresh corn and the husks and silk were too funky to throw away. I twisted the damp husk slivers around a pencil and let them dry. They made the perfect curls for a monster girl. 

Went a bit overboard on the freckles. The text specifically mentions twelve freckles on the face. I think the marker took possession of my hand and I couldn't stop. Googly eyes provide the finishing touch to the faces. Wooden skewer sticks were glued to the back of each figure. For safety, cut or sand off the pointed end of the stick before using. These puppets are fun to make and easy to manipulate

​Consider these suggestions: “Steve the Loser" would be a terrific showstopper, with body parts falling off. Maybe secure the appendages with tiny Velcro dots for easy removal. “Fernanda Kabul” poem would be another fun puppet performance. As Fernanda casts her spells, substitute the student character puppet for a puppet resembling the hexed character. 
So many possibilities. So much fun!

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: August 28, 2018  Publisher: Chronicle Books  ISBN: 978-1452129389