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Franklin the Turtle

Franklin's Class Trip

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In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin is excited about his class trip to the museum. Just before they go inside, Beaver tells him that they'll see real dinosaurs. At first Franklin is worried, but he has so much fun seeing and doing other things in the museum that he almost forgets about the dinosaurs -- until he comes face-to-face with a tyrannosaurus!

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 1999

5 people are currently reading
151 people want to read

About the author

Paulette Bourgeois

370 books121 followers
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bourgeois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at Carlton University then worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC Television. She became a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. contributing pieces to Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and Maclean's. She returned to Toronto in 1983.

In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

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5 stars
126 (36%)
4 stars
100 (28%)
3 stars
105 (30%)
2 stars
12 (3%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Calista.
5,430 reviews31.3k followers
June 10, 2020
Awwww! The critters in this story are the cutest. The artwork is glossy and the cute-factor is at an 11.

Franklin and his class are going to a museum today and his friend tells him there are dinosaur's in the museum. It scares Franklin as he thinks they are real. They see a lot of cool stuff in the museum and they have a fun day. We also get to see the dinosaur bones.

The nephew read this with me and he loved all the animals. He loved the snail resting on Franklin's shell. We had fun reading this and he gave this 4 stars too.
Profile Image for Margaux.
509 reviews40 followers
June 5, 2025
Love the Franklin series 🐢
Profile Image for Greta is Erikasbuddy.
856 reviews27 followers
October 13, 2012
Mr. Owl is taking his class to the museum and Franklin can't wait! Until he finds out that they are seeing dinosaurs. What if they eat him? What if they step on him? How does the museum keep them away from the kids?

Before they see the dinosaurs they visit other exhibits that take Franklin's mind off the turtle eating dinosaurs.... until lunch time and Mr. Owl announces that they will see the dinosaurs next.

Franklin is not ready but follows his class into the exhibit only to become face to face with a T-rex.

A great book for kids about to visit a museum, go on a class trip, or just need a great bedtime story :)
Profile Image for Rosa Cline.
3,328 reviews44 followers
August 5, 2015
This was a good Franklin the turtle book as it introduces children to a museum and the many adventures awaiting them to visit one. However, like some of the books, Beaver has to be overbearing and 'mean'... she teases rudely and scares Franklin and Snail into believing dinosaurs are real and in the museum so the entire day they are on edge worrying if a dinosaur will come after them. I don't like the character of Beaver she's always seems like she's snotty and stubborn and always has to be super bossy.
Profile Image for Jessica Bennett.
117 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2010
In this book, Franklin and his class go to the museum and Franklin is afraid of the dinosaurs. If my class were going on a field trip to a museum, I might read this book before so that they can have an idea about what kind of things they will see. Also, this is a great book to read just for fun because it shows how Franklin overcomes his fear of the dinosaurs and it is a great example of a great beginning, middle, and end.
Profile Image for Amanda.
2,471 reviews10 followers
September 30, 2009
A good story for us since we were familiar with Franklin from his show. He's a little older and farther along in school than we are, though, so not as relate-able as preschool/toddler books. This class trip was to a museum (Natural History from the looks of it) so anyone with that on their calendar might find this very helpful.
Profile Image for Dolly.
Author 1 book672 followers
May 31, 2010
We've watched "Franklin" on television, but we haven't read too many of his stories. This is a good example of a typical Franklin the Turtle story - it's an entertaining tale and has a good message. Our girls enjoyed watching this book read aloud on the "Tumblebooks" online audiobook site (www.tumblebooks.com).
Profile Image for Lauren.
207 reviews
October 9, 2010
Franklin and his friends take a trip to visit a museum. They are scared that there are real dinosaurs in the museum. They visit the bat cave, the rain forest, a medieval room, the sand pit and finally the dinosaur exhibit. Franklin sees that it was really just the bones of the dinosaurs and isn't scared anymore.
Next time, they plan to see the Egyptian exhibit...
Profile Image for Katherine.
89 reviews
February 22, 2011
This is a nice story to read-aloud to your students. It would be great to read before a field trip - especially if the class was going to the museum! The book also shows children that we shouldn't worry all the time, and that sometimes our fears go away when we face them.
Profile Image for The Brothers.
4,118 reviews24 followers
March 9, 2016
Franklin's adventures continue - this time with a field trip to the local museum. Beaver scares him and Snail into believing that real dinosaurs await them - not specifying that it's just the bones.

Franklin-esque illustrations as expected.
Profile Image for Alison.
112 reviews3 followers
January 31, 2011
This would be a great book to read to a class before going on a field trip to a museum. The class discussion could include what objects are located at a museum, and the purpose of museums.
Profile Image for Tam.
909 reviews18 followers
July 21, 2014
My boys (ages 4 & 8) like to read about Franklin and his adventures even though they don't like to watch him on TV. This was a good book to show that you shouldn't always be scared of the unknown.
Profile Image for Mike Mackenzie.
3 reviews
April 15, 2015
Emma liked this story because Franklin thought the dinosaurs were real - which is really funny!
1 review
March 15, 2024
This book frustrates me for a lot of reasons:

1. The opening line “Franklin could count by twos and tie his shoes” suggests the book will rhyme - in fact, this is the only line in the entire book which rhymes.

2. Furthermore, Franklin doesn’t even wear shoes so this makes even less sense.

3. The Franklin-verse is made up of intelligent semi anthropomorphic animals, but inside the museum there are arbitrarily “standard” animals which are not intelligent. Why is there this strange divide? What makes some animals smart but not all?

4. Why and how does an enclosed museum in the middle of a city contain an open sky rainforest (not to mention all the live animals in general - this is more of a zoo than a museum)?

5. If the dinosaur is just bones, why is there a ground shaking roar when Franklin encounters it? Where did this roar come from?

Nonetheless, I give this book 3 stars because my two year old loves it.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jane.
Author 6 books88 followers
January 18, 2024
Franklin's Class Trip, by Paulette Bourgeois is about a trip to a museum with his class. His friend Beaver has been before and tells him about the dinosaur that they should see and Franklin and Snail think they are going to see an alive diaosaur. They are happily surprised to see the bones of the dionsaur along with several other exhibits in a successful and fun trip full of new learning experiences.

I kept Franklin's Class Trip in my classroom library.
30 reviews2 followers
April 21, 2020
Franklin is going on a field trip with his class to the museum. He is so excited. Franklin has lots of adventures while at the museum. He digs for arrowheads and sees dinosaur bones. Franklin has so much fun!
25 reviews
Read
October 12, 2021
Franklin is excited about his class trip to the museum. Franklin is worried, but he has a lot of fun seeing and doing other things in the museum that he almost forgets about the dinosaurs beaver warned him about. This book would be great for a unit on what is inside of a museum.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
690 reviews32 followers
September 20, 2024
A fun Franklin book! They go to a museum. The whole time Franklin's terrified of seeing real dinosaurs. Then he comes face to face with one! And realzies it's only bones, not alive and able to eat him.
There's not really a moral to it, but the story's fun!
Profile Image for KaitandMaddie.
4,240 reviews12 followers
August 4, 2022
I think we should try to get to the museum soon, since they were interested.
Profile Image for Krista.
909 reviews32 followers
July 29, 2025
Normally Franklin stories are an excellent resource for teaching children valuable lessons. This one kind of fell flat. Definitely not a must read.
22 reviews
Read
October 13, 2015
Title: Franklin’s Class Trip
Author: Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrator: Brenda Clark
Genre: Online book
Theme(s): Learning how museums can be fun and educational.
Opening line/sentence: Franklin could tie his shoes and count by two's.
Brief Book Summary: Franklin is so excited for his class trip to the museum but then starts to get anxiety because his classmates told him that there were real dinosaurs at the museum. This made him very nervous and scared for the museum! Franklin shortly realizes that the dinosaurs in the museum are not real and he should have never been afraid.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Children's Literature - Dr. Judy Rowen
Franklin the turtle and his other anthropomorphic animal friends are going to the museum on a class trip. Franklin is excited until he learns the museum contains real dinosaurs-then he becomes afraid and tries to avoid that section of the building. Finally Franklin faces his fear, literally, and realizes how silly he has been. Franklin fans will enjoy this book, which may be a helpful prelude to a first-time field trip.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: School Library Journal
K-Gr 2-As in her earlier titles about the turtle, Bourgeois describes a situation that most children will find familiar. This time, Franklin is going to a museum with his classmates. He can't wait to go, until he hears from Beaver that, "There are real dinosaurs inside." Terrified, Franklin and his friend Snail worry throughout the entire visit, until they find themselves face to face with a Tyrannosaurus rex-and learn that all that's left of the dinosaurs are their bones. Clark's bright illustrations capture the expressions of Franklin and his friends as they explore the museum-from their joy when dressing up as knights in the medieval room to their fear of the dinosaur exhibit. This book will make a good read-aloud, both one-on-one and in a storytime setting. Children who have been to museums will see plenty of familiar things, and those who haven't may find themselves eager to take a trip to see the dinosaurs and more.-Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Response to Two Professional Reviews: Children will enjoy this book and will also be able to relate to this book. Children can express their fear of dinosaurs when reading this book and are able to make great connections. This book will help them build confidence in themselves.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The characters are acting like people. Animals symbolize people. The theme is to never let others intimidate you or ruin your fun.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Consideration of Instructional Application:
Have students get into small groups and discuss what they are afraid of. Are you afraid of monsters? Roller coasters? Spiders? The dark? Then ask students if they’ve ever been to a museum. Was kind of museum? Was it enjoyable? Did you learn a lot?

167 reviews
October 28, 2011
Franklin is one of my favorite stories of all time. Franklin books are wonderful for first grade readers. In "Franklin's Class Trip" Franklin and his classmates explore a museum. I would share this with a class before going on our very own field trip.
32 reviews
September 4, 2013
The Franklin books are much like the Arthur books. Each has a lesson that can be learned, with every day activities kids can relate to. For example, a class trip. This story was a little wordy so this book would be for children in maybe 3-4 grade.
8 reviews3 followers
July 11, 2011
This is an excellent book to read to kids. This is a good story to build the courage of children. A great lesson can be taught from this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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