Title: Outside the Box: A Book of Poems.
Author: Karma Wilson
Illustrator: Diane Goode
Publisher & Year of Publication: McElderry, 2014
Genre: Poetry; Humor
Recommended Audience: Ages 7-10
Summary: The book offers a host of comical poems ranging in theme. Themes include weather patterns, scary creatures, animals, travel, and school.
Evaluation/Reflection: I think this is a good book for younger elementary students, as it filled with silly and comical poems. It really does not go much into mixed feelings or emotions that upper elementary students may appeal to.
Memorable Literary Moment: Some poems are wrote in a nontraditional from. A few poems are printed vertically, with varying text size and boldness.
Illustrations: All images are black and white drawings, and have a Shel Silverstein feel.
Review: Familiar objects and situations are given a sideways tweak in more than 100 illustrated poems that subvert expectations. A kid rats out a classmate for being a tattletale; the scary alien under the bed turns out to be a moldy sandwich; and in a long poem that recalls the old lady who swallowed the fly, a boy wears his coat upside down, walks on his hands, sits on his head, and eats from his shoe. That kid is way outside the box! Goode’s ink-and-brush illustrations, full of swooping lines and flippy flourishes, are energetic and graceful at the same time. The art picks up the punch line of funny poems, amplifying the humor to laugh-out-loud levels, but for poems about the moon, dreams, or sunrise, the illustrations are ornate and lovely. Wilson dedicates the book to Shel Silverstein, and indeed the black-and-white illustrations and mixture of wry observation and kooky supposition recall Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) and Falling Up (1996). –Booklist
Promotion Idea: During the month of April, do a poet study comparing various poets and their style of writing.
Acquisition: Public library or available on Amazon for $14.06 (hardcover)
Author: Karma Wilson
Illustrator: Diane Goode
Publisher & Year of Publication: McElderry, 2014
Genre: Poetry; Humor
Recommended Audience: Ages 7-10
Summary: The book offers a host of comical poems ranging in theme. Themes include weather patterns, scary creatures, animals, travel, and school.
Evaluation/Reflection: I think this is a good book for younger elementary students, as it filled with silly and comical poems. It really does not go much into mixed feelings or emotions that upper elementary students may appeal to.
Memorable Literary Moment: Some poems are wrote in a nontraditional from. A few poems are printed vertically, with varying text size and boldness.
Illustrations: All images are black and white drawings, and have a Shel Silverstein feel.
Review: Familiar objects and situations are given a sideways tweak in more than 100 illustrated poems that subvert expectations. A kid rats out a classmate for being a tattletale; the scary alien under the bed turns out to be a moldy sandwich; and in a long poem that recalls the old lady who swallowed the fly, a boy wears his coat upside down, walks on his hands, sits on his head, and eats from his shoe. That kid is way outside the box! Goode’s ink-and-brush illustrations, full of swooping lines and flippy flourishes, are energetic and graceful at the same time. The art picks up the punch line of funny poems, amplifying the humor to laugh-out-loud levels, but for poems about the moon, dreams, or sunrise, the illustrations are ornate and lovely. Wilson dedicates the book to Shel Silverstein, and indeed the black-and-white illustrations and mixture of wry observation and kooky supposition recall Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) and Falling Up (1996). –Booklist
Promotion Idea: During the month of April, do a poet study comparing various poets and their style of writing.
Acquisition: Public library or available on Amazon for $14.06 (hardcover)