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If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries [First Edition]
Forty-one poems reveal a variety of secret thoughts, worries, and wishes.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
5 people are currently reading
768 people want to read
About the author
Judith Viorst
118 books803 followersJudith Viorst is an American writer, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is known for her humorous observational poetry and for her children's literature. This includes The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (about the death of a pet) and the Alexander series of short picture books, which includes Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972), which has sold over two million copies.
Viorst is a 1952 graduate of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. In 1968, she signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. In 1981, she became a research graduate at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute after six years of study.
Viorst is a 1952 graduate of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. In 1968, she signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the latter part of the 1970s, after two decades of writing for children and adults, Viorst turned to the study of Freudian psychology. In 1981, she became a research graduate at Washington Psychoanalytic Institute after six years of study.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
January 7, 2022
2022 A book with 100 pages or less
December 6, 2014
Read for CBR 6
In order to pass on my love of poetry to my niblings (and expand our horizons a tad bit beyond Where The Sidewalk Ends), my niece and I have recently spent some time exploring the 810s at our local library. One of our very first finds – and one of the biggest hits – is Judith Viorst’s If I Were in Charge of The World (and other worries). For my niece and I, the best kind of poetry is nonsense poetry – we’ve spent a lot of time with the king of all things kooky, Shel Silverstein, but, I knew there were other books, other poems, and other authors out there that we could enjoy as well.
Viorst – probably best known for Alexander of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day fame – is one of the ones that’s definitely worth searching out. (The book is from 1981, and I’m surprised I hadn’t read it as a child myself, because this would have been exactly the kind of thing a girl who memorized “Sick“ would have enjoyed, but I had never heard of it before.) The titular poem is my favorite, by far, with the author listing off things that would be out of here if s/he were boss – including allergy shots, bedtimes and Monday mornings- with a few things she’d like more of – like chocolate sundaes that count as vegetables – thrown in for good measure. That’s my favorite, but there are still many more worthwhile poems to be found in this book.
There are descriptive poems (“Stanley the Fierce/Has a chipped front tooth/And clumps of spiky hair…. And I hear that he goes for seventeen days/Without changing his underwear./But I don’t think I’ll ask him.); and poems about enemies and poems about best friends; poems that sum up the experience of being told it’s time for bed (I hear eating./ I hear drinking./ I hear music./ I hear laughter. /Fun is something/ Grownups never have/ Before my bedtime. /Only after.). There are poetic takes on fairy tales and fantasies and forgetting to brush your teeth. There’s a few poignant ones scattered throughout – about a broken heart mending, or apologizing, or growing up. Oh my gosh, there’s the Teddy Bear Poem, which nearly made me weep, which I will include for you here, so you can also almost weep:
I threw away my teddy bear,
The one that lost his eye.
I threw him in the garbage pail
(I thought I heard him cry.)
I’ve had that little teddy bear
Since I was only two.
But I’m much bigger now and
I’ve got better things to do
Than play with silly teddy bears.
And so I said good-bye
And threw him in the garbage pail.
(Who’s crying – he or I?)
Right??
In addition to tugging on the heartstrings and making you chuckle, Viorst also uses space and text creatively – she squishes words here, lays them flat there. And there’s her spectacular take on weirdness, which is my niece’s favorite. It lists how all the people in the family are acting different than they normally would, then proclaims them all weird, while the text of the entire poem is upside down, emphasizing the point, but also illustrating that, perhaps, the author is a little bit weirder than s/he may have thought.
And I’m saying s/he here for ‘the author’ even though I know full well that Judith Viorst is a woman, because the best thing about this kind of poetry, this first person perspective, is that kids are easily able to place themselves into the author’s shoes, to make believe that the poet is, in fact, them. So when she’s talking about her “Thoughts on getting out of a nice warm bed in an ice-cold house to go to the bathroom at three o’clock in the morning”, it’s easy enough for a kid to see themselves in that place, to agree with her conclusion “Maybe life was better/When I used to be a wetter.”
The poems are short, most of them have a simple pattern and rhyme scheme, and almost all of them have an early-reader level vocabulary (My niece is 8, and there were only a few unfamiliar words, so I’d say 3rd grade independent level reading, probably, but you could read them with kids younger than that). Our only complaint was that there were far too few of them. But, after a bit of research, I found out that not only are there more Judith Viorst poems for kids (Sad Underwear & Other Complications), but she also has written quite a few books of humorous poetry for adults, which I will also be checking out (It’s Hard to Be Hip Over 30 & Other Tragedies of Married Life;How Did I Get To be 40?;When Did I Stop Being 20 & Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life; Forever 50 & Other Negotiations; Suddenly 60 & Other Shocks of Later Life; I’m Too Young to Be 70 & Other Delusions; Unexpectedly Eighty & Other Adaptations). I’m definitely going to be checking those out soon, and I recommend the poetry in this book for everybody (technically it’s for kids, but who cares about that: they’re good poems)
In order to pass on my love of poetry to my niblings (and expand our horizons a tad bit beyond Where The Sidewalk Ends), my niece and I have recently spent some time exploring the 810s at our local library. One of our very first finds – and one of the biggest hits – is Judith Viorst’s If I Were in Charge of The World (and other worries). For my niece and I, the best kind of poetry is nonsense poetry – we’ve spent a lot of time with the king of all things kooky, Shel Silverstein, but, I knew there were other books, other poems, and other authors out there that we could enjoy as well.
Viorst – probably best known for Alexander of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day fame – is one of the ones that’s definitely worth searching out. (The book is from 1981, and I’m surprised I hadn’t read it as a child myself, because this would have been exactly the kind of thing a girl who memorized “Sick“ would have enjoyed, but I had never heard of it before.) The titular poem is my favorite, by far, with the author listing off things that would be out of here if s/he were boss – including allergy shots, bedtimes and Monday mornings- with a few things she’d like more of – like chocolate sundaes that count as vegetables – thrown in for good measure. That’s my favorite, but there are still many more worthwhile poems to be found in this book.
There are descriptive poems (“Stanley the Fierce/Has a chipped front tooth/And clumps of spiky hair…. And I hear that he goes for seventeen days/Without changing his underwear./But I don’t think I’ll ask him.); and poems about enemies and poems about best friends; poems that sum up the experience of being told it’s time for bed (I hear eating./ I hear drinking./ I hear music./ I hear laughter. /Fun is something/ Grownups never have/ Before my bedtime. /Only after.). There are poetic takes on fairy tales and fantasies and forgetting to brush your teeth. There’s a few poignant ones scattered throughout – about a broken heart mending, or apologizing, or growing up. Oh my gosh, there’s the Teddy Bear Poem, which nearly made me weep, which I will include for you here, so you can also almost weep:
I threw away my teddy bear,
The one that lost his eye.
I threw him in the garbage pail
(I thought I heard him cry.)
I’ve had that little teddy bear
Since I was only two.
But I’m much bigger now and
I’ve got better things to do
Than play with silly teddy bears.
And so I said good-bye
And threw him in the garbage pail.
(Who’s crying – he or I?)
Right??
In addition to tugging on the heartstrings and making you chuckle, Viorst also uses space and text creatively – she squishes words here, lays them flat there. And there’s her spectacular take on weirdness, which is my niece’s favorite. It lists how all the people in the family are acting different than they normally would, then proclaims them all weird, while the text of the entire poem is upside down, emphasizing the point, but also illustrating that, perhaps, the author is a little bit weirder than s/he may have thought.
And I’m saying s/he here for ‘the author’ even though I know full well that Judith Viorst is a woman, because the best thing about this kind of poetry, this first person perspective, is that kids are easily able to place themselves into the author’s shoes, to make believe that the poet is, in fact, them. So when she’s talking about her “Thoughts on getting out of a nice warm bed in an ice-cold house to go to the bathroom at three o’clock in the morning”, it’s easy enough for a kid to see themselves in that place, to agree with her conclusion “Maybe life was better/When I used to be a wetter.”
The poems are short, most of them have a simple pattern and rhyme scheme, and almost all of them have an early-reader level vocabulary (My niece is 8, and there were only a few unfamiliar words, so I’d say 3rd grade independent level reading, probably, but you could read them with kids younger than that). Our only complaint was that there were far too few of them. But, after a bit of research, I found out that not only are there more Judith Viorst poems for kids (Sad Underwear & Other Complications), but she also has written quite a few books of humorous poetry for adults, which I will also be checking out (It’s Hard to Be Hip Over 30 & Other Tragedies of Married Life;How Did I Get To be 40?;When Did I Stop Being 20 & Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life; Forever 50 & Other Negotiations; Suddenly 60 & Other Shocks of Later Life; I’m Too Young to Be 70 & Other Delusions; Unexpectedly Eighty & Other Adaptations). I’m definitely going to be checking those out soon, and I recommend the poetry in this book for everybody (technically it’s for kids, but who cares about that: they’re good poems)
October 15, 2021
Another book by Judith Viorst! Andrea described her as a character actor: "Oh my god, I've seen you in a million things."
I recognized it immediately when browsing the library's online catalog and found that I remembered lots of the poems. I must have read it a lot in middle school.
I recognized it immediately when browsing the library's online catalog and found that I remembered lots of the poems. I must have read it a lot in middle school.
February 24, 2015
Personal Reaction: I liked this book, I thought that it was very similar to Shel Silverstein's poetry that I read as a kid. It is written as the thoughts that kids have about their world and growing up so I feel like it is more easily relatable to them.
I would use this book for the beginning of a poetry unit for 2nd-4th grade. The book is split into different categories, some are just split based on what object the poems in that section are about and some sections are split based on the type of poem. This book has lyric poems, fairytales, and even some nonsense and narration poems. I would use it to introduce a poetry lesson and read a different one from each section to begin to talk about the widely different categories of poems that there are and the characteristics that separate them. Aside from how the book is organized, each poem uses a good amount of figurative language and different aspects such as repetition and rhythm which help establish a flow to the poems. Of course there is also the use of other elements of poetry such as rhyme, both contrived and natural just depending on the poem. Throughout the poetry unit I would continue to read a couple different poems everyday to begin to show students the different sounds to each poem and increase their understanding and enjoyment of poetry.
I would use this book for the beginning of a poetry unit for 2nd-4th grade. The book is split into different categories, some are just split based on what object the poems in that section are about and some sections are split based on the type of poem. This book has lyric poems, fairytales, and even some nonsense and narration poems. I would use it to introduce a poetry lesson and read a different one from each section to begin to talk about the widely different categories of poems that there are and the characteristics that separate them. Aside from how the book is organized, each poem uses a good amount of figurative language and different aspects such as repetition and rhythm which help establish a flow to the poems. Of course there is also the use of other elements of poetry such as rhyme, both contrived and natural just depending on the poem. Throughout the poetry unit I would continue to read a couple different poems everyday to begin to show students the different sounds to each poem and increase their understanding and enjoyment of poetry.
February 27, 2012
This book features many different and short poems. It's very similar to the books Shel Silverstein wrote but a smaller version. These poems portray the thoughts young children have about the world and people around them. Almost every poem has either rhyme or rhythm to it. One can clearly see the images brought from the childrens' imaginations through the text and illustrations. These poems display childrens' mischeaveous behaviors. I have read Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. It reminded me so much of these books and I really enjoyed the poems. This appeals to and is very relatable to children of all ages. This work well in a classroom when discussing imagination and feelings.
April 17, 2008
This was the first book that made me think I could be a writer. As a kid, I was surprised that someone else had had thoughts that I had had. It put the idea in my head that maybe I could share my thoughts with the world and it might touch someone and make them feel less lonely as this book had done for me. I'm still working on that writer idea.
January 9, 2010
This was one of my absolute favorite books growing up. My mom and I used to sit together reading it, just laughing our heads off. I love Viorst's take on life and how she expresses a child's point of view so perfectly. I love this book so much, my copy is falling apart!
December 8, 2011
Whimsical book of poems about imperfect kids and imperfect parents. Title poem is best.
September 9, 2024
There are some wonderful poems in this collection. Many are about the worries, annoyances, grievances, heartbreaks and losses of childhood. Some focus on envy, competitiveness, and self image. There are also lovely poems that address—among other things—pet cats, good friends, and the smell of early springtime.
I particularly liked the “Fairy Tales” section of the book in which Viorst has well-known characters provide alternative perspectives on their situations. When the prince who’s searching for the owner of the glass slipper visits Cinderella, for example, she has reservations and decides on a different course of action:
I really didn’t notice that he had a funny nose.
And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy clothes.
He’s not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other night.
So I think I’ll just pretend that this glass slipper feels too tight.
As for the Little Mermaid—she poignantly regrets betraying herself and laments the inappropriate sacrifices she made:
I risked more than my life to make him love me.
The prince preferred another for his bride.
I always hate the ending to this story:
They lived together happily; I died.
But I have some advice for modern mermaids
Who wish to save great sorrow and travail:
Don’t give up who you are for love of princes.
He might have liked me better with my tail.
While some of Viorst’s cultural references are now dated, there’s still much emotionally relatable and humorous content in this poetry collection for kids. Recommended.
I particularly liked the “Fairy Tales” section of the book in which Viorst has well-known characters provide alternative perspectives on their situations. When the prince who’s searching for the owner of the glass slipper visits Cinderella, for example, she has reservations and decides on a different course of action:
I really didn’t notice that he had a funny nose.
And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy clothes.
He’s not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other night.
So I think I’ll just pretend that this glass slipper feels too tight.
As for the Little Mermaid—she poignantly regrets betraying herself and laments the inappropriate sacrifices she made:
I risked more than my life to make him love me.
The prince preferred another for his bride.
I always hate the ending to this story:
They lived together happily; I died.
But I have some advice for modern mermaids
Who wish to save great sorrow and travail:
Don’t give up who you are for love of princes.
He might have liked me better with my tail.
While some of Viorst’s cultural references are now dated, there’s still much emotionally relatable and humorous content in this poetry collection for kids. Recommended.
Read
June 4, 2020My paternal grandmother used to visit us only once a year, but she stayed for six weeks. During her summertime visit, we baked cookies, made gnocchi, and played Zim-Zam (which is essentially tether ball played with a tennis ball and racket). Then, in the afternoons, my sisters and I would sit around the kitchen table reading books with Grandma. One of our go-to books was Judith Viorst's If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries: Poems for Children and Their Parents, and to this day, I can't think of it without calling to mind fond memories of Grandma and summertime. The poems in this collection are laced with both humor and wisdom, something I recognize now but didn't as a child, and I have to say that Viorst was on to something. She knew how to make everyone laugh with relatable situations and wry amusement. Our favorite poem? A nine-lined gem titled 'Remember Me?' that ends with these three lines: 'Or will they only say / He stepped in the dog doo / At Jimmy Altman's party?' Even now, as I write this blurb, I hear Grandma's squeal of delight and her inability to keep a straight face when reading the conclusion of the poem. If you've never had the chance to pick up this book, I encourage you to do so.
November 27, 2020
This short book of poems captures the joys and worries of a suburban elementary school child. The book is easy enough for a child to read and will make many adults nod in recognition. Highlights include "Apology," "Mending," "Some Things Don't Make Any Sense At All," and "Who's Who."
The experiences may not be universal, but all of us have struggled with the feelings and situations in this book: learning to fit in by observing social norms (not picking our nose or burping too loud), trying to figure out who we are and what makes us special (even if we're just average at everything), and changes in people we believed we knew (like parents getting divorced or dramatically changing their lifestyle or appearance).
Our world has changed dramatically since this book was published in the 1980s. Still, it is worth dipping into and serves as a welcome reminder of slower, perhaps simpler times.
The experiences may not be universal, but all of us have struggled with the feelings and situations in this book: learning to fit in by observing social norms (not picking our nose or burping too loud), trying to figure out who we are and what makes us special (even if we're just average at everything), and changes in people we believed we knew (like parents getting divorced or dramatically changing their lifestyle or appearance).
Our world has changed dramatically since this book was published in the 1980s. Still, it is worth dipping into and serves as a welcome reminder of slower, perhaps simpler times.
December 3, 2017
1. Awards: None
2. 2nd—5th grade
3. This poetry is for the worriers. There is a poem for daunting questions and worries that plague the minds of all people. With delight and humor, these poems are easily read over and over.
4. These poems are a nice change from others. It acknowledges this idea of worry and panic, with an understanding technique. It is a great addition to the classroom library.
5. In class activities:
Students can write about what worries them.
Teacher can lead discussion on how worrying makes them feel, and how to overcome it to be brave successful.
2. 2nd—5th grade
3. This poetry is for the worriers. There is a poem for daunting questions and worries that plague the minds of all people. With delight and humor, these poems are easily read over and over.
4. These poems are a nice change from others. It acknowledges this idea of worry and panic, with an understanding technique. It is a great addition to the classroom library.
5. In class activities:
Students can write about what worries them.
Teacher can lead discussion on how worrying makes them feel, and how to overcome it to be brave successful.
March 25, 2017
Poems about insecurities; written from young perspectives. Art is all detailed in black and white pen which is very unique and very explorative. Focuses on subjects like worry, animals, spring fever, facts of life, common issues between 5 and 18 years old. I like the topics and how relatable it was.
July 21, 2019
I recently remembered the title poem of this book while thinking of something else. Don' t we all wish we were in charge of the world and have our own lists of what we would alter? Great read for children as well as parents, teachers, caregivers, etc.
February 20, 2023
This book is full of poems that evoke many different emotions in the readers: guilt, sadness, joy, and humor just to name a few. Whether it be a child reading a poem about turning seven or an adult reading a poem about childhood and getting older, this book has the poem for them.
April 22, 2018
A poetry book to use when helping second and third graders about writing poetry.
May 23, 2018
Oh yeah, the dog poem!
July 15, 2019
The poems that were good were great, but there weren't many.
December 30, 2019
So much like the Shel Silverstein books. Enjoyable for both children and children grown old. My favorites are Mending and Just Before Springtime
May 6, 2020
This poetry was okay but not anything spectacular. There have been poems that have stayed with me since I was a kid and none of these had that feel.
October 5, 2020
I love this book.
January 3, 2021
I love the title poem, but not the rest.
I've used this many years, but I found my students like it less and less as time goes on. I guess it's just really dated.
I've used this many years, but I found my students like it less and less as time goes on. I guess it's just really dated.
January 14, 2023
I really liked the one about The Little Mermaid.
November 19, 2023
3.5 stars
February 1, 2024
This was great, my favorites were the thank you note poem and the princess in the tower poem. But all of them were fantastic.
February 17, 2025
This is a small collection of poems that are written from the perspective of a child who is in charge of the world.
November 3, 2025
I read this with my nine year old. Some were better than others.
Read
March 12, 20171. There are no awards for this book.
2. This book is appropriate for second and third grade.
3. I read the section titled "Words". The first poem is "Secrets" and it's about a group of girls sharing a secret but not wanting to tell another girl because she cannot keep secrets. "Talking" is about a child not being able to talk even though she talks a lot. He has so much to talk about and feels so trapped because he isn't allowed to talk. "Sometimes Poems" is about how poems can look all different. "Apology" is about the different ways to say "I'm sorry" and how hard it is to apologize.
4. There are no colors in this book. There was only two illustration in the few pages that I read. I think what was in the poems is important for the students to understand but just the way it is played out in the book, is not appropriate for children.
5. The students can talk about their experiences with what was in the poems and maybe even act them out with their classmates.
2. This book is appropriate for second and third grade.
3. I read the section titled "Words". The first poem is "Secrets" and it's about a group of girls sharing a secret but not wanting to tell another girl because she cannot keep secrets. "Talking" is about a child not being able to talk even though she talks a lot. He has so much to talk about and feels so trapped because he isn't allowed to talk. "Sometimes Poems" is about how poems can look all different. "Apology" is about the different ways to say "I'm sorry" and how hard it is to apologize.
4. There are no colors in this book. There was only two illustration in the few pages that I read. I think what was in the poems is important for the students to understand but just the way it is played out in the book, is not appropriate for children.
5. The students can talk about their experiences with what was in the poems and maybe even act them out with their classmates.
February 27, 2025
Viorst – probably best known for Alexander of the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day fame – is one of the ones that’s definitely worth searching out. (The book is from 1981, and I’m surprised I hadn’t read it as a child myself, because this would have been exactly the kind of thing a girl who memorized “Sick“ would have enjoyed, but I had never heard of it before.) The titular poem is my favorite, by far, with the author listing off things that would be out of here if s/he were boss – including allergy shots, bedtimes and Monday mornings- with a few things she’d like more of – like chocolate sundaes that count as vegetables – thrown in for good measure. That’s my favorite, but there are still many more worthwhile poems to be found in this book.
There are descriptive poems (“Stanley the Fierce/Has a chipped front tooth/And clumps of spiky hair…. And I hear that he goes for seventeen days/Without changing his underwear./But I don’t think I’ll ask him.); and poems about enemies and poems about best friends; poems that sum up the experience of being told it’s time for bed (I hear eating./ I hear drinking./ I hear music./ I hear laughter. /Fun is something/ Grownups never have/ Before my bedtime. /Only after.). There are poetic takes on fairy tales and fantasies and forgetting to brush your teeth. There’s a few poignant ones scattered throughout – about a broken heart mending, or apologizing, or growing up. Oh my gosh, there’s the Teddy Bear Poem, which nearly made me weep, which I will include for you here, so you can also almost weep:
I threw away my teddy bear,
The one that lost his eye.
I threw him in the garbage pail
(I thought I heard him cry.)
I’ve had that little teddy bear
Since I was only two.
But I’m much bigger now and
I’ve got better things to do
Than play with silly teddy bears.
And so I said good-bye
And threw him in the garbage pail.
(Who’s crying – he or I?)
Right??
In addition to tugging on the heartstrings and making you chuckle, Viorst also uses space and text creatively – she squishes words here, lays them flat there. And there’s her spectacular take on weirdness, which is my niece’s favorite. It lists how all the people in the family are acting different than they normally would, then proclaims them all weird, while the text of the entire poem is upside down, emphasizing the point, but also illustrating that, perhaps, the author is a little bit weirder than s/he may have thought.
And I’m saying s/he here for ‘the author’ even though I know full well that Judith Viorst is a woman, because the best thing about this kind of poetry, this first person perspective, is that kids are easily able to place themselves into the author’s shoes, to make believe that the poet is, in fact, them. So when she’s talking about her “Thoughts on getting out of a nice warm bed in an ice-cold house to go to the bathroom at three o’clock in the morning”, it’s easy enough for a kid to see themselves in that place, to agree with her conclusion “Maybe life was better/When I used to be a wetter.”
The poems are short, most of them have a simple pattern and rhyme scheme, and almost all of them have an early-reader level vocabulary (My niece is 8, and there were only a few unfamiliar words, so I’d say 3rd grade independent level reading, probably, but you could read them with kids younger than that). Our only complaint was that there were far too few of them. But, after a bit of research, I found out that not only are there more Judith Viorst poems for kids (Sad Underwear & Other Complications), but she also has written quite a few books of humorous poetry for adults, which I will also be checking out (It’s Hard to Be Hip Over 30 & Other Tragedies of Married Life;How Did I Get To be 40?;When Did I Stop Being 20 & Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life; Forever 50 & Other Negotiations; Suddenly 60 & Other Shocks of Later Life; I’m Too Young to Be 70 & Other Delusions; Unexpectedly Eighty & Other Adaptations). I’m definitely going to be checking those out soon, and I recommend the poetry in this book for everybody (technically it’s for kids, but who cares about that: they’re good poems)
There are descriptive poems (“Stanley the Fierce/Has a chipped front tooth/And clumps of spiky hair…. And I hear that he goes for seventeen days/Without changing his underwear./But I don’t think I’ll ask him.); and poems about enemies and poems about best friends; poems that sum up the experience of being told it’s time for bed (I hear eating./ I hear drinking./ I hear music./ I hear laughter. /Fun is something/ Grownups never have/ Before my bedtime. /Only after.). There are poetic takes on fairy tales and fantasies and forgetting to brush your teeth. There’s a few poignant ones scattered throughout – about a broken heart mending, or apologizing, or growing up. Oh my gosh, there’s the Teddy Bear Poem, which nearly made me weep, which I will include for you here, so you can also almost weep:
I threw away my teddy bear,
The one that lost his eye.
I threw him in the garbage pail
(I thought I heard him cry.)
I’ve had that little teddy bear
Since I was only two.
But I’m much bigger now and
I’ve got better things to do
Than play with silly teddy bears.
And so I said good-bye
And threw him in the garbage pail.
(Who’s crying – he or I?)
Right??
In addition to tugging on the heartstrings and making you chuckle, Viorst also uses space and text creatively – she squishes words here, lays them flat there. And there’s her spectacular take on weirdness, which is my niece’s favorite. It lists how all the people in the family are acting different than they normally would, then proclaims them all weird, while the text of the entire poem is upside down, emphasizing the point, but also illustrating that, perhaps, the author is a little bit weirder than s/he may have thought.
And I’m saying s/he here for ‘the author’ even though I know full well that Judith Viorst is a woman, because the best thing about this kind of poetry, this first person perspective, is that kids are easily able to place themselves into the author’s shoes, to make believe that the poet is, in fact, them. So when she’s talking about her “Thoughts on getting out of a nice warm bed in an ice-cold house to go to the bathroom at three o’clock in the morning”, it’s easy enough for a kid to see themselves in that place, to agree with her conclusion “Maybe life was better/When I used to be a wetter.”
The poems are short, most of them have a simple pattern and rhyme scheme, and almost all of them have an early-reader level vocabulary (My niece is 8, and there were only a few unfamiliar words, so I’d say 3rd grade independent level reading, probably, but you could read them with kids younger than that). Our only complaint was that there were far too few of them. But, after a bit of research, I found out that not only are there more Judith Viorst poems for kids (Sad Underwear & Other Complications), but she also has written quite a few books of humorous poetry for adults, which I will also be checking out (It’s Hard to Be Hip Over 30 & Other Tragedies of Married Life;How Did I Get To be 40?;When Did I Stop Being 20 & Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life; Forever 50 & Other Negotiations; Suddenly 60 & Other Shocks of Later Life; I’m Too Young to Be 70 & Other Delusions; Unexpectedly Eighty & Other Adaptations). I’m definitely going to be checking those out soon, and I recommend the poetry in this book for everybody (technically it’s for kids, but who cares about that: they’re good poems)
August 12, 2015
Browsing for a short book of children's poems, I was intrigued by the elliptical title of Judith Viorst's contribution, If I Were in Charge of the World...and Other Worries. In a perfect world, none of us, least of all children, would have worries, but since we do I thought in some small way this book would be beneficial to my eight year-old son who has become overly sensitive since his parents divorced. And so I brought the book home and waited for a nice, quiet time when my son and I could read the poems together.
After a few false starts before bedtime, we were able to dive into the book at the dinner table. I would read a poem aloud and adjust my tone depending on the reaction my son gave me. Sometimes he would just shrug, sometimes he would laugh and ask me to read it again. Eventually, he took the book from me and would read his favorite poems out loud. Then we picked out a few and talked about them.
If I Were in Charge of the World...and Other Worries is broken into several sections, with no section containing more than six poems. The brevity of entries proved to be a little frustrating to my son as there were a couple of sections that he really enjoyed. The sections are entitled "Wishes and Worries," "Cats and Other People," "Nights," "Spring Fever," "Facts of Life," "Fairy Tales," "Words," "Thanks and No Thanks," "Wicked Thoughts," and "Good-Byes."
The poems are simple but poignant observations on life, as written from a child's point of view and often with a dose of humour. While most of the poem's verses rhyme, some of them do not, which may prove difficult to follow for some readers. Among the subject matter spread throughout the poems are worries big and small, like sleeping without a night light, avoiding the school bully, and facing up to an apology.
A few of the poems exhibit a visual silliness, like reading upside-down or with a picture accompaniment. Those were the ones that my son liked best. The "Fairy Tales" section, though it didn't appeal to my son, is notable for the humourous twists it takes on traditional Prince-meets-Princess stories.
However, Viorst included some poems that express the hurt and confusion a child feels, whether it is the moving away of a best friend, a first heartbreak, or wondering why Mommy had another baby.
If I Were in Charge of the World...and Other Worries may not have solved my son's immediate concerns about divorce (there are no poems in this 1981 book that deal directly with this subject), but he was able to lose himself in laughter at some of the poems' more amusing imagery. He was able to understand the surface meaning of most of the poems, and we would discuss the implied meaning of some of the others. Overall, I thought that it was a fun book of poems to introduce to a third-grade boy.
After a few false starts before bedtime, we were able to dive into the book at the dinner table. I would read a poem aloud and adjust my tone depending on the reaction my son gave me. Sometimes he would just shrug, sometimes he would laugh and ask me to read it again. Eventually, he took the book from me and would read his favorite poems out loud. Then we picked out a few and talked about them.
If I Were in Charge of the World...and Other Worries is broken into several sections, with no section containing more than six poems. The brevity of entries proved to be a little frustrating to my son as there were a couple of sections that he really enjoyed. The sections are entitled "Wishes and Worries," "Cats and Other People," "Nights," "Spring Fever," "Facts of Life," "Fairy Tales," "Words," "Thanks and No Thanks," "Wicked Thoughts," and "Good-Byes."
The poems are simple but poignant observations on life, as written from a child's point of view and often with a dose of humour. While most of the poem's verses rhyme, some of them do not, which may prove difficult to follow for some readers. Among the subject matter spread throughout the poems are worries big and small, like sleeping without a night light, avoiding the school bully, and facing up to an apology.
A few of the poems exhibit a visual silliness, like reading upside-down or with a picture accompaniment. Those were the ones that my son liked best. The "Fairy Tales" section, though it didn't appeal to my son, is notable for the humourous twists it takes on traditional Prince-meets-Princess stories.
However, Viorst included some poems that express the hurt and confusion a child feels, whether it is the moving away of a best friend, a first heartbreak, or wondering why Mommy had another baby.
If I Were in Charge of the World...and Other Worries may not have solved my son's immediate concerns about divorce (there are no poems in this 1981 book that deal directly with this subject), but he was able to lose himself in laughter at some of the poems' more amusing imagery. He was able to understand the surface meaning of most of the poems, and we would discuss the implied meaning of some of the others. Overall, I thought that it was a fun book of poems to introduce to a third-grade boy.
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