"If I Were in Charge of the World"
Re-Tellings of the Original Poem
by Judith Viorst


Written by 
Mrs. Dingman's 5th Grade
October 2010
After listening to the poem, "If I Were in Charge of the World" by Judith Viorst, we created our own versions. We made decisions about things we'd cancel and keep, with wonderful insight, thoughtfulness, humor and creativity. 
We again made wonderful use of our laptops as we prepared our poetry using Microsoft Word. We continue to practice using the Spell Check Tool, understanding that careful checking is still needed. Spell Check doesn't understand context! 
Enjoy our poetry!

This project aligned with the following Pennsylvania Academic Standards:
1.1.5 Learning to Read Independently
1.4.5 Types of Writing
1.5.5 Quality of Writing
3.7.5 Technological Devices

TylerOctober 6, 2010
If I Were In Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel boring classes
Yucky vegetables
And dangerous smog

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be free hunting licenses
Awesome science kits
 And big $1,000 checks

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have awful flu
You wouldn't have smelly cars
You wouldn't have terrible problems
Or old board games
You wouldn't even have crummy stinkbugs

If I were in charge of the world
A fun holiday would last eight days
All people would have tasty pie every week
And a person who sometimes forgot to look before leaping
And sometimes forgot to stack the hard wood
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world

Megan     October 6, 2010
If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel boring, restless school
Disgusting fruits
And being homeless

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be a wonderful world of cotton candy
One hundred million chicken wings in malls
And less autistic people

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have difficult school work
You wouldn't have frustrating home duties
You wouldn't have to help your mother clean the dishes
Or have to rake the leaves in the fall
You wouldn't even have to wear uncomfortable shoes to carpeted stores

If I were in charge of the world
A swimming pool would have underwater football
All apples would be made of solid chocolate
And a person who sometimes forgot to take a shower
And sometimes forgot to say sorry if she made someone cry
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world



AdamOctober 6, 2010
If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel long boring speeches with Mom or Dad
A dangerous ride down the Hudson River
And bothering riddles

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be warm summer days every day
Hundreds of books on the walls in all the classrooms
And eco-friendly solar-powered TVs

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have nasty okra
You wouldn't have annoying little brothers
You wouldn't have dirty litter in the streets of New York City
Or tangled-up toys like a yo-yo tied in a knot
You wouldn't even have loud car engines

If I were in charge of the world
A small yard would be a zoo
All food would be delectable
And a person who sometimes forgot to take an RC test
And sometimes forgot to read an interesting book
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world


Patrick    October 6, 2010
If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel horrid terrible night dinners
Waiting anxiously a year for your birthday
And mom and dad saying go give the dogs a walk

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be such things as wondrous unicorns and aliens
An enormous pack of canines at my command
And tiny children in charge of teachers

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have to go hunting... your delicious meat would appear out of nowhere
You wouldn't have to wait for your computer to slowly load
You wouldn't have to knot your colorful shoes
Or write scary essays
You wouldn't even have to rake the dazzling leaves in autumn

If I were in charge of the world
A bank would be stuffed with candy
All frigid pools would be 95 degrees
And a person who sometimes forgot to do his homework
And sometimes forgot to do his chores
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world
Harlan     October 6, 2010
If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel school on Mondays
McDonald's super salty fries
And pink Volkswagen bug makers

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be floating cars
Giant money trees
And portable teleporters

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have dusty chalk
You wouldn't have boring analog clocks
You wouldn't have eye-burning soap
Or annoying brothers
You wouldn't even have to listen to your parents

If I were in charge of the world
A cup of hot apple cider wouldn't scorch your tongue
All people could walk through solids
And a person who sometimes forgot to pay attention in class
And sometimes forgot to get on the school bus
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world
AndrewOctober 6, 2010
If I Were in Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel all the disgusting foods that taste terrible
Books that are not about cool action stuff
And getting in trouble

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be gigantic mountains after mountains of awesome video games
Delicious candy ice cream and chocolate to eat
And if you didn't brush your teeth they wouldn't rot

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have bed times or awkward times or nothing to do
You wouldn't have long car trips or hey be quiet trips
Your wouldn't have nasty older brothers or annoying little ones
Or a single mean person you didn't like that you had to deal with
You wouldn't even have a single boring time in your life when you didn't like what's happening

If I were in charge of the world
A single cool toy you wanted wouldn't cost anything
All-powerful magic that you could think of would be real
And a person who sometimes forgot to wake up
And sometimes forgot to get up
Would still be allowed to be 
In charge of the world
This page was last updated: October 14, 2022