Author: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrator: Josee Bisaillon
Publisher: Clarion Books, 2011
ISBN: 9780547223001
Main Characters: Books (given the magic
to speak through poetry)
Plot: Disorderly book parties, the Beginning, Middle and End bickering, a dog clinging to a cliff, a bragging index, a plot that the characters hate, tree branches made into paper, books that fear water, readers that find themselves, and more!
Settings: Bookstores, On the Shelf and Under the Bed, pages, aisles, and more.
Genre/Theme/Style: Children’s Humorous Poetry—Anthology (Collection of Poems)— There are 21 poems that center around books in this collection. A bibliophile’s (book lovers) dream!
5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁
Critical Analysis: Historical and cultural origins, – Some of the poems are written in free verse. Some of the poems have lilting lines, such as “Calling All Readers,” the first poem of the book. It pulls the reader in with the pace and tempo with phrases like, “I’ll tell you a story. I’ll spin you a rhyme.”
- Rhythm, Rhyme, & Sound—Some of the poems rhyme, such as Hydrophobic (fear of water). The author clearly loves words and phrases and chooses them carefully with precision. The sound of the words becomes essential in many of her poems.
- Language - The author includes an acrostic poem, which uses the first letter of each line to emphasize an idea.
- Imagery—“Murky midnights no threat,” from the poem Hydrophobic gives you a very vivid image of what a book does not fear; instead, it is the “feeling of wet” that leaves the book “quite soggy.”
- Emotions—The author does a good job of bringing books to life. For example, words become trapped inside a cage if the book they are in remains unopened. This makes the reader wonder what trapped words they are missing in books they have yet to read.
Awards: Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notables, Librarian’s Choice, Nerdy Book Award, Eureka! Gold Medal, Bank Street Best Books, Honor Book—Gelett Burges Award, and White Ravens.
Illustrations: The illustrations are done
in a collage art style with a lot of color and allure. They are whimsical and
perfect for a children’s book. Josee has currently illustrated more than 30
children’s books and lives with “many paper
characters.” You can read more about her at her website. https://joseebisaillon.com
Background Information on Poet/Poetry:
The author is a former teacher.
She wrote the poem Hydrophobic about what a book would be afraid of and she mentions, “all the library books she had to pay for because of water damage.” You can find her reading and discussing this poem at: https://safeYouTube.net/w/qxAib
Connections:
Small Reads For Brighter Days - Blog by Laura Purdie Salas
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