Laura Purdie Salas

Writing the World for Kids

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Poetry Friday: What’s Looking at You, Kid? (by J. Patrick Lewis)

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I usually share stand-alone poems on Poetry Friday, but this week, I’m featuring a rhyming picture book called What’s Looking At You Kid?(Sleeping Bear Press, 2012). J. Patrick Lewis has a new take on riddles, one of his favorite forms, judging by Spot the Plot and Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie. This delightful picture book features a quatrain (well, metrically a quatrain, though sometimes the design splits up the lines differently) on each spread that observes something in nature, followed by two lines that usually start, “Look who’s…”

Kids will want to shout out the answers, which are obvious from the beautiful illustrations by Renee Graef.

I love this, because it really encourages kids to look more closely at what’s around them. That’s something I like to tap into in my own work (like A Leaf Can Be...), too. I also love it because Pat doesn’t just rhyme. He creates actual poetry in this book, in my opinion. Here are a couple of my favorite spreads:

Hanging in the
air’s the thing
he can do
without a wing.

Look, a yo-yo on a string!
Whee!

and

Skimming ponds
and country lanes,
whizzing wings
of windowpanes.

Look, a pair
of fairy planes.

Aren’t those gorgeous? The spider and dragonflies have never been treated better!

Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup has the delicious?Poetry Friday Roundup today! Head on over for a treat!

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Comments

  1. Oh, I love the dragonfly poem. These sound great, and such a gentle way to introduce metaphor, too. Thanks for sharing – just put it on the list!

  2. Oh, I love the dragonfly poem. These sound great, and such a gentle way to introduce metaphor, too. Thanks for sharing – just put it on the list!

  7. Haven’t seen this one yet. Looks wonderful. Love the excerpts you shared. “Fairy planes” = love.

  8. Haven’t seen this one yet. Looks wonderful. Love the excerpts you shared. “Fairy planes” = love.

  9. Oh dear that sounds too good and I’ve only just bought Edgar Allan Poe’s pie. So many wonderful books out right now.

  10. Oh dear that sounds too good and I’ve only just bought Edgar Allan Poe’s pie. So many wonderful books out right now.

  17. It sounds like a book that I would truly enjoy. I’ve been telling myself that I should really familiarize myself with J Patrick Lewis’ titles, but I haven’t gotten around to fully exploring his books yet. 🙂 This looks like a good place to start. 🙂

    • He is one of the most, if not the most, versatile poets I’ve ever read. His poetry has brought me to tears with its beauty and sadness, and it’s made me almost wet my pants from laughing too hard. Sorry, probably tmi. :>)

  18. It sounds like a book that I would truly enjoy. I’ve been telling myself that I should really familiarize myself with J Patrick Lewis’ titles, but I haven’t gotten around to fully exploring his books yet. 🙂 This looks like a good place to start. 🙂

    • He is one of the most, if not the most, versatile poets I’ve ever read. His poetry has brought me to tears with its beauty and sadness, and it’s made me almost wet my pants from laughing too hard. Sorry, probably tmi. :>)

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