Franklin's School Play
Written by Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrated by Brenda Clark
Reviewed by Sofia W. (age 7)
Every year Franklin's school puts on a school play. This year they would perform Salute to the Nutcracker. Franklin was the Nutcracker. He had a big part to learn. A couple of days before the play there was a lot of activity and Mr. Owl was proud of the class. Bear was the costume designer. Franklin's class practiced their lines in loud voices. The first time Franklin practiced on stage, he couldn't speak. Owl told him to practice with him. Franklin decided since Badger was the stage manager she could do his part in the play. When Badger went on stage, she spoke too low. Then Franklin came out of the background and said no, like this. He spoke loudly. He accidently said the whole line. He got over his stage fright. The play was a great success after all.
I thought the best part was when Franklin couldn't speak. It all started when the class was practicing on stage. When Franklin looked out at the empty chairs, his throat tightened. He couldn't speak. Just imagine if you couldn't speak.
My favorite character is Franklin because he is the main character. He is a turtle and my third favorite animal is a turtle.
I thought the illustrator did a good job. They put a lot of detail and color into the pictures. I helped me imagine what was happening in the book. It helped me understand the words too.
I recommend the book to children nine and down because the reader has to have an imagination. Another reason is children nine and down might like animals a bit more.