Concrete Poetry:

Sidman, Joyce. Meow Ruff A Story in Concrete Poetry. .Illus. Michelle Berg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780618448944.

Sidman uses concrete poetry, in the form of word placement and shapes, and onomatopoeia, and many descriptions to create a picture poetry book that tells a story. No Table of Contents or headings are necessary since this is one continuous poem. A dog flees his home and a cat is left on the side of the road. The two meet and becomes friends as they endure a thunderstorm in the park. The plot contains a beginning, middle, and an end with the middle presenting the thunderstorm conflict. The poem is written in a play format where characters have different thoughts and feelings that add to the story figuratively as well as literally, such as the while puffy text of adjectives to represent a cloud:
“A billowing batch
Of cumulus”
Sideman includes surprises in the story, such as the dog jumping in the tree when the cat hisses.

Berg, the illustrator uses typefaces, shapes, and lines to personalize the texts and thoughts of the characters in lieu of bubble voices and thoughts. The story is told through the adjective- filled non-rhyming verses in word-shape landscapes creating much of the illustrations.
This style reflects an appealing warm tone to the audience the animals’ emotions in an arch-shaped line, as shown by the cat:
Back arching – hiss starting – sworn enemy – DOG!
The sensory images are felt, heard, seen, and smelt throughout the story in the thoughts and landscape. The colorful and simple illustrations allow the focus to be on the story as the fonts bring the characters to life.

Sidman and Berg marry concrete poetry, story, and art turning a common occurrence of a dog and cat into a unique and exciting adventure for children. This story is engaging because of the visually unique arrangement of the text that allows the story to stand out.


Library Lesson:


must run run run run

don’t want leash want speed want FREEDOM !


Activity:
After reading the poem and showing the pictures, look at each page and ask what is happening, include the details. A student tells the story of each page. Read what each character says using different voices for each character, if possible. Divide the class into groups allowing for each student in the group to represent the voice of a character in the story. Each group reads the story within their group by character. Stop after the CLOUDBURST and discuss the experiences.