Janeczko, Paul B., and Christopher Raschka. A Kick in the Head. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick, 2005. Print. ISBN 0763606626.
Janeczko compiles a collection of poems to explore poetic forms in the “everyday guide to poetic forms” The guide is easy to follow. In the introduction Janeczko expains the rules and tells that sometimes the poets don’t follow the rules but follow “the spirit of a poetic form.” The Table of Content lists the poem by the poem’s form. The book is arranged with the more familiar forms-couplets, tercets, quatrain, haiku then proceeding to the less familiar and ending with pantoum followed by notes and acknowledgements. The notes give a definition for the poetic form in addition to some history and symbols to help comprehend the syllable count. There are twenty-nine poetic forms addressed accompanied with one or two examples. The form is identified at the upper corner of the page. Janeczko recommends, in the introduction, to read the poem then the explanation found at the bottom of the page, and then reread the poem trying to differentiate that form from others. He uses accessible examples such as Edward Lear’s limerick, Shakespeare’s sonnet and J. Patrick Lewis’ comic epitaph. The poems contain a variety of emotions, such as humor in Ogden Nash’s “The Mule” and grief in Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s “Whispers to the Wall.” The poetry appears in all forms-a news story, question, directive, joke, art, game, story, list, reflection, and memory. Contributing poets include Eleanor Farjeon, William, Shakespeare, X.J. Kennedy, Ogden Nash, William Blake, Liz Rosenberg, and Janeczko, himself. Some poems are familiar other have never been published previously.
Raschka, a Caldecott Honor illustrator, fills each page with mixed media collages that contain delightfully colorful designs that complimenting, accenting, or frame the poem. Through torn pieces of various textures, shapes, and colors of paper Raschka forcefully communicated the deaths of September 11 in Georgia Heard’s “The Paper Trail.”
The collage character and designs contain detailed patterns, solids, and ink and watercolor lines. The white spaces focus the attention on the color-filled page full of activity.
Janeczko and Raschko have complied an interesting collection of poetic forms that student understand and that motivate them to want to write their own poems. This collection makes learning how poetic form takes place FUN by using spirited poetry and dynamic and colorful illustrations!
Janeczko compiles a collection of poems to explore poetic forms in the “everyday guide to poetic forms” The guide is easy to follow. In the introduction Janeczko expains the rules and tells that sometimes the poets don’t follow the rules but follow “the spirit of a poetic form.” The Table of Content lists the poem by the poem’s form. The book is arranged with the more familiar forms-couplets, tercets, quatrain, haiku then proceeding to the less familiar and ending with pantoum followed by notes and acknowledgements. The notes give a definition for the poetic form in addition to some history and symbols to help comprehend the syllable count. There are twenty-nine poetic forms addressed accompanied with one or two examples. The form is identified at the upper corner of the page. Janeczko recommends, in the introduction, to read the poem then the explanation found at the bottom of the page, and then reread the poem trying to differentiate that form from others. He uses accessible examples such as Edward Lear’s limerick, Shakespeare’s sonnet and J. Patrick Lewis’ comic epitaph. The poems contain a variety of emotions, such as humor in Ogden Nash’s “The Mule” and grief in Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s “Whispers to the Wall.” The poetry appears in all forms-a news story, question, directive, joke, art, game, story, list, reflection, and memory. Contributing poets include Eleanor Farjeon, William, Shakespeare, X.J. Kennedy, Ogden Nash, William Blake, Liz Rosenberg, and Janeczko, himself. Some poems are familiar other have never been published previously.
Raschka, a Caldecott Honor illustrator, fills each page with mixed media collages that contain delightfully colorful designs that complimenting, accenting, or frame the poem. Through torn pieces of various textures, shapes, and colors of paper Raschka forcefully communicated the deaths of September 11 in Georgia Heard’s “The Paper Trail.”
The collage character and designs contain detailed patterns, solids, and ink and watercolor lines. The white spaces focus the attention on the color-filled page full of activity.
Janeczko and Raschko have complied an interesting collection of poetic forms that student understand and that motivate them to want to write their own poems. This collection makes learning how poetic form takes place FUN by using spirited poetry and dynamic and colorful illustrations!
Poem for Library Lesson:
“The Mule”
by Ogden Nash
In the world of mules
There are no rules.
Activity:
Read the poem twice and show the illustration. Talk about the words that rhyme and have students make a list of 10 pairs of rhyming words. Teach mini-lesson on couplet (two line poem or stanza that usually rhymes, contain a complete thought, can be serious or funny). Present an example of a prepared couplet, like:
The garden grows,
When I use the hose.
Ask students, What illustration would you use with this couplet?
Review what makes this a couplet. What are the rhyming words? What is the complete thought? Write the three components of a couplet on the board. While the students think of a topic they want to use in a couplet. The students write their own rhyming couplet. Teacher/librarian move around the room conferencing with students if necessary and paying particular attention to complete thoughts, two lines, and rhyming words. After the students are finished with their couplet they create an illustration to accompany it. Students volunteer to share their work with the class. The poems and illustrations are gathered to display.
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