Stampede!
Laura Purdie Salas
Stampede!
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School
by Laura Purdie Salas
The text is written at a 2nd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for younger children (ages 5–8), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes.
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About This Book
What if your school was a wild jungle full of roaring kids and buzzing energy? Imagine poems that catch all the wild, silly, and surprising things kids do every day, from the classroom to the playground. Can you spot the wild side hiding inside you too?
Themes
Quick Assessment
Stampede! is a playful poetry collection perfect for early readers aged 5 to 8, capturing the lively and imaginative behaviors of children at school. Through 18 humorous poems, it explores school life in a fun, relatable way without any intense content. This book encourages a love of poetry and self-expression while celebrating childhood energy and creativity.
Why we rated Stampede! 7C
Stampede! is written at a Level 2 reading level across 40 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 3.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Stampede! works for readers up to grade 4.0.
We rate Stampede! as 7C ("Clear") because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.
Thematically, Stampede! explores children's poetry, humor, school life, and childhood — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 5-8 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about children's poetry, humor, school life.
Maybe not for
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
7C — ClearNo conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.
Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
2/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9780547772141
- Pages
- 40
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Published
- 2009
- Type
- Fiction