A Spectacular Selection of Sea Critters: Concrete Poems

by Betsy Franco, Michael Wertz (Illustrator)

What might you see if you swam in the sea? Dive on in to encounter everything from dolphins and octopuses to sea turtles and squirrel fish. This clever book features concrete poems about a spectacular selection of sea critters.



The award-winning duo behind A Curious Collection of Cats and A Dazzling Display of Dogs created this collection of twenty-nine visual poems celebrating creatures of the sea. Ocean observers and animal aficionados are sure to find these selections sensational!

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Nature, Nonfiction

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Betsy Franco is an accomplished and versatile author whose body of work spans over 80 published titles, including fiction, young adult novels, picture books, and poetry collections. Known for her creative, collage-like approach to storytelling, Franco has also written a screenplay for each of her novels, with Naked optioned for film and The Art of Love currently in post-production.
Franco has a strong background in film and theater, having served as the screenwriting mentor for Metamorphosis, Junior Year, a film adaptation of her novel and play. The project was a family collaboration involving her sons James and Tom Franco, and it was well received at major festivals including Cinequest and Mill Valley, earning recognition as a top ten film by the San Jose Mercury News.
Her creative partnerships with her sons continue across various mediums: she appeared in James Franco’s film The Broken Tower and on General Hospital, while Tom Franco has illustrated her books and co-produced films with her. She also works closely with her son Dave Franco, who assists with her writing projects and participated in the audiobook of Metamorphosis, Junior Year alongside James.

Reviews

[✨Arline✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is great, but I literally can’t read the font. Neither could my kids.

[Jess at Such a Novel Idea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love poetry books for children, and this one did not disappoint. The poetry was fun and funny. Sometimes it rhymed, sometimes it didn't, but my six year old definitely enjoyed it.

The art was gorgeous and the way the poetry was worked into the illustrations was clever. However, reading it on our laptop, it was VERY hard to read some of the pages. This was a definite turn-off and caused some restlessness in my daughter.

It is probably better in print, but having a hard time reading the book disrupts the reading experience. However, if we had a chance, we'd definitely pick this one up from the library.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love the design aspect of this book--it's sooo Kewl!--it does not achieve a book's primary purpose: to be read. This is very difficult to read due to the very awesome design/layout/font itself. *sigh*

The writing is ok. Maybe the writing is even good? I struggled to read the pages so I'm not sure.

[Sierra Nikole · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Spectacular Selection of Sea Critters" by Betsy Franco, Illustrated by Michael Wertz
Millbook Press, 2015 (13)
“A Spectacular Selection of Sea Critters” by Betsy Franco is a fascinating poetry selection that engages the reader in the poems. The illustrations are the best part about this book, in my opinion anyways, because it is within the illustrations that one may find the words to read. This illustrator takes advantage of the author’s poems about different types of sea life and incorporates the words into the illustrations, sometimes obviously, and other times it takes some effort to find the words or where to start. For example, the words on the seahorse page are entirely comprising the seahorse’s body space. On another page the words were actually in the shape of the teeth of this cleaner fish. Lastly, the spiny puffer was very good at incorporating the words into her illustration, as the words actually make up the spines.

I think that this book would be very good for child readers because of the font and color of the words. This diversity from white and black books with the same size font all the way through, may very likely help struggling readers who need less words, less pages, and more attractive illustrations. I do think however, that while this book could teach where on a page to start a book and where to progress to, the words or starting points of the sentences may be too hard for the children who have not been exposed to many kinds of books. The poems are well-written, and each poem has educational value within its lines.
(Fulfills a poetry selection requirement)

[Maizie Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who loves all things ocean themed I had to pick up this book. I really like the idea behind what they were trying to do, but I don’t think it was executed very well. In each page there is one ocean creature they give you more information about in the form of a poem. However the way the pages are written they are turned, twisted and overall just really hard to read with the font. I would maybe have this in my room for just a fun read but overall not one of my favorites.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

the label: a collection of concrete poems doesn't really work, not many, if any, take the shape of the actual topic of the poem. The book is almost too bright, too chunky, too busy, the combo of red words on orange fish is had to read. I browsed through the poems to find a few on coral reefs to accompany a lesson for upper grades for the first week of April.

[Timothy Farring · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose you could use this in a lesson plan about the animals in the sea, however I thought this book was obnoxious and I had to force myself to get through it. I didn't like how the art was the words and you had to flip the book all around just to read it. This will not be a book going on any shelves in my future classroom.

[Mackenzie Duda · Rating 2 out of 5]

- the poems were very difficult to read, as they were shape poems. Some of the poems had to be read upside-down or out of order in order to make any sense
- shape poems
- all about fish; each poem was about a different featured sea creature
- contrasting, vibrant colors: lots of blues and reds
- the poems mostly had rhyme schemes

[Rheanna Mathis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed emotions about this book. I like the vivid pictures and I think it's really cool the way in which the text is in the picture but it would be difficult in terms of teaching the children reading left to right. This is a book that would take explaining in terms of how to read it.

[Thomas Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The graphic design enhanced the reading of the book. It's bright and graphic. Fun play with poetry.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was clever and the Michael Wertz illustrations were great, but I did not enjoy reading it.

[curiouskat_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the format looks cool, it is near impossible to read. It became increasinly frustrating to read as one goes through the book. It isn't a fun book for parents or children to read.

[Tate Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hidden review

[Danielle Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be a good a good example to use if you are teaching a unit on poetry. While this book is a little difficult to read because it is concrete poetry, there are several pages that are easy to read and would be good examples to share with the class on how this type of poetry is written. This book is filled with bright colors and interesting illustrations so it is a good tool to use in the classroom as this can help hold students attention. However, because this book is made of concrete poems, it is better used as a read aloud book where the teacher reads it to the class, versus the students having to try and follow the movement of the text through the images.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always looking for poetry that kids will enjoy. Usually humor, sports, or animals are the key ingredients. This collection has humor and animals - so it's twice as likely to be a hit. Franco has written poems that not only showcase several types of poetry (concrete, haiku, cinquain, etc.), she also works in cool facts about the various fish. Fans of Nemo will love the poem, "Why clown fish hang out in the anemones." Those readers who are more interested in the visual elements will enjoy the poem's words being placed along the spines of the spiny puffer, or creating the stripes on the Moorish Idol. The acrostic poem carries an environmental message about endangered reefs and there is even a poem about reef food chains. The vibrant colors evoke a sense of summer beach fun that includes snorkelers appearing in the illustrations and then seen tucked into their beds beneath fishy quilts at the end of the book. There is a list of books and websites to check for further information, but this book on its own could introduce a unit on sea life, or on poetic forms. I would love to see a class create a similar book as their final assessment piece to conclude a unit on the ocean.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[infoqueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

From its opening poem, “Sun Mail,” this collection invites us to join the cheerful pair of snorkeling children exploring the marvels of ocean life. The vivid color palette (vibrant reds, oranges and yellows against cool blues) and kinetic layout of the text create a stimulating environment for Franco’s rollicking verse. (“Box Jellyfish”: “Your attraction/Is your action/fascinating/undulating…”)
While some layouts make certain poems challenging to read (“Needlefish,” for example, is laid out like a crossword puzzle, and in “Frogfish,” the color of the text is nearly identical to that of the background illustration. I realize since the latter poem is about camouflage, that was probably deliberate—but it was still a challenge.), overall, this is a perfect pairing of images and ideas. Children will find its energetic charm hard to resist.

[Grace Livengood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franco, B., & Wertz, M. (n.d.). A spectacular selection of sea critters: Concrete poems.
Diving deep into the ocean blue, we explore the different kinds of sea creatures that lurk beneath the waves. We learn about them and what they do for the ocean through clever poems that don't follow a concrete pattern and move with the colorful illustrations. The colorful paintings are made in such a way that it makes the story interactive for the reader as they move the book in order to follow the words of the poems. I liked being able to learn more about different forms of marine life through poetic language and I thought it would be a good book to show students in order to get them interested in learning more about the ocean and possibly poetry this book could be paired with lessons about either topic.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Concrete poetry puts the words into the shapes of what it is talking about, and the illustrations here were also very brightly colored and fun. Besides all being concrete, many other forms of poetry were highlighted, such as haiku, limericks, acrostic, etc. I also liked the added resources the author added at the end - appropriately aged books and websites for further information. I think this would be a perfect book in an elementary classroom on poetry as it showcases many forms, and children could have a lot of fun created their own concrete poems, learning more about the fish, and more.

[Jenark · Rating 5 out of 5]

My eight year old daughter and I read this together. We enjoyed the bright colors and fun rhymes. The book was a bit difficult to read, especially on a laptop, because of the creative illustrations and how the words were woven throughout it. However, we enjoyed it. If you have a child who enjoys the sea this would be a fun addition to their reading collection.

*This book was given to me by Net Galley for an honest review.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very creative presentation of 'poems' about different sea creatures. There's a running theme with children deep sea divers (with snorkels, huh?) but it doesn't actually intrude. The creative layout of the pages is a challenge to read aloud but excited my almost-seven-year old son's interest in looking at the pages. We read this again and again and he found some parts very funny.

[Tera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not the easiest book to read but then concrete poems can have that drawback. Despite the sometimes uncomfortable head turning this was a really good book that was fun to read. Lots of colors also helped to make the pages pop and stay interesting.
arc from NetGalley

[Mary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun new collection of concrete poems to add to A Dazzling Display of Dogs and A Curious Collection of Cats. Besides being concrete, there are several other poetry forms (haiku, cinquain, limerick, etc).

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry book. Cute poetry book about sea life. I didn't love how the book was difficult to read because of the font and informal way the poem was portrayed in the illustrations-although, others may love this!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book of poems all about sea critters. The words of the poems are scattered into the illustrations which creates a fun read. I think this would be a great way to share information about new sea critters that students have never heard of before. Media: Hand lettered

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book! The poems are solid (many quite lovely) and do a great job of representing their respective sea creatures.

ARC provided by Net Galley.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, vibrant concrete poetry about the ocean that children of all ages are sure to enjoy. Highly recommended.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some were a little tricky to read due to the text going in various directions but a very cute and fun book of poems.

[Darlene Ivy]

vibrant illustrations and concrete poems about sea creatures

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the vibrant illustrations and use of poems within illustrations. However, readers will have to decipher the text within busy, colorful illustrations.

[Aliza Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphic design got in the way of me actually reading the book. It's bright and graphic. Fun play with poetry.