This is a really cute little book for introducing poetry. The poems are short; the illustrations are lively and effectively add to the meaning or humor of the poems.
I'm not sure what to say about this. The illustrations are great, possibly the best aspect of the whole book. I'm not really into poems, to say the least, so I'm not knowledgable in the area and I think sometimes I miss what's meant to get through. That being said,
"Some people I know fill up the whole chair. They don't share."
Is this a poem? Is that a poem? So I can make my own. Let's see.
"Sometimes people don't wash their dishes, it makes me wish they swam with fishes."
Can I get published? I'm failing to see how this could not only be construed as a poem but as a poem good enough to enter into this, or any other, book. But, like I said, sometimes I just don't "get" poems. Anyway, most of the others included were pretty good. I like my poems to rhyme which most, if not all, did. I also like my poems to have a little - even if it's just a tiny little bit - of length to them. The one I quoted above just doesn't do it for me, that's a sentence, not a poem. (Not a very good sentence at that.) There are, I think, 37 poems here and they're very short. Julia and I read them all in a row before she went to bed last night. There were a few she really liked, a few I really liked, and the rest kind of just served their purpose if you will.
Bird Talk was one of my favs (with awesome illustrations!)The Birthday Cow was freaking horrible and even my five year old said that which I found kind of funny. Oodles of Noodles is overdone to say the least. Julia didn't like My Legs and I although I did. We both liked I Do Not Mind You, Winter Wind. She also liked Winter Clothes and I didn't care much for it. The rest were just there for us. It was worth reading for the few we liked but this isn't something we'd keep. I do want to check out more of Cyd Moore's illustrations at some point.
This is similar to "Animals Animals" by Eric Carle, but includes poems on more than JUST animals. The pictures were silly and I see potential for laughter, but the information was not always content-based, so it may not have a lot of assignment-potential.
Since it is written for young readers, it matters more that the book is read aloud than that it is comprehended.
Poetry #3 This book is filled with around 50 fun poems for children of all ages. The poems are more silly than serious, but give children a look at poetry and how fun it can be to write. My favorite poem of the book is "Who's Afraid?" by Lucia and James L Hymes, Jr.