Here’s another poetry book not yet nominated for a Cybils award.
Yesterday, I read Bugs: Poems About Creeping Things, by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Rob Shepperson (Wordsong, 2007).
This collection of 40 poems about the things I try to avoid whenever possible (boxelders congregating around our electric meter and trying to find a way into the house–ick!) is a funny, silly book. I like silly rhymes (though not nonsense rhymes) and many of these poems gave me a smile. For me, 40 of them is a bit too many. I tend to like more variety in a collection. But I know there are tons of kids who will eat these up–the poems, not the bugs, hopefully.
flea
A flea known as Ralph
swallowed a cow.
It’s a mystery how.
And after the cow
he swallowed a horse
(a huge one, of course).
But with a giraffe
he ran out of luck.
Its legs got stuck.
It’s impossible now
to understand Ralph
wif giraffe in hif mouf.
And if the poem doesn’t make you laugh, the line art of a tiny flea with enormous giraffe legs sticking out of it will make you cringe. Sure to keep 6-year-old boys and girls happy!
For me, the poems for two voices were the strongest ones. He has seven in this collection, which teachers will really appreciate, I think.
As someone who grew up in Florida, roach capital of the world, I shuddered at this one:
roaches
(for two voices)
(first voice) (roach chorus)
We love your kitchen
late
at night.
We hate it
when you
flip
the light.
We love to nibble
this
and that.
We hate it
when you
own
a cat.
We love it
when you
scream
and
yell.
We really hate
your
ROACH
MOTEL!
That’s not even the best of the poems for two voices, but it’s the one that gave me the creeps. And the illustration of cranky old roaches having a buffet did not make me feel better!
Do you love bugs? Do you love silly verse? If so, check out this book and see if you think it deserves to be nominated for a Cybils.