You probably know Where the Sidewalk Ends as a favorite of young peoples' poetry. It is the book that introduced poems like 'Smart,' about a child who traded his father's dollar down to five pennies, all the while convinced he was arranging clever deals ('My dad gave me one dollar bill, 'Cause I'm his smartest son, And I swapped it for two shiny quarters, 'Cause two is more than one!). It also includes poems in the form of colorful cautionary tales, such as 'Sarah Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out' and 'The Dirtiest Man in the World' that take the results of failing to perform ordinary chores to their extremes. The illustrations add to meaning, often adding twists to the text of the poem, such as in 'The Loser,' when someone has lost his head, and only the reader knows that his head is 'this rock' on which the narrator sits. The poems present lively and sometimes sarcastic takes on the every day as well as the fantastic.

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 12/31/2009

ISBN-10: 0060256680

ISBN-13: 9780060256685

Check the library catalog

This is a collection of light, fanciful poems. The poems range from having tea with a white rhinoceros to searching the deepest jungle for the rare purple tiger. Reminiscent of poets like Lewis Carrol, Ogden Nash and Edward Lear.

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 12/9/2009

ISBN-10: 0763611182

ISBN-13: 9780763611187

Check the library catalog

This amusing book is filled with things that the author (and maybe you) have wondered about. Like, who hid something under the Tooth Fairy's pillow when she was a little girl? Was it Eliot's toilet I saw? is one of the humorous palindromes in the palindromes section. Be prepared to laugh out loud and think about the world in ways you haven't before. This book ends with Rhyming Summary of the Universe in which the last four lines are,'Your parents will often annoy you for no certain reason. Enjoy blueberries while you can(they have a very short season.) 64 crayons you do not really need. To be happy with three is to be happy indeed.'

Similar books: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 6/4/2010

ISBN-10: 0061429759

ISBN-13: 9780061429750

Check the library catalog

Geordie finds lots of time to write in his journal when he is grounded for breaking a window. He writes about his likes and dislikes, his trumpet, and the garden he will plant with his Dad in the spring. Many different poetry forms are used, as well as different typefaces, word puzzles, and good use of white space.

Similar books: Shakespeare Bats Clean-up by Ron Koertge; Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Reviewed by: Donna

Date read: 8/1/2011

ISBN-10: 1896580351

ISBN-13: 9781896580357

Check the library catalog

Syvia is only four years old when the Nazis invade Poland. Soon, she is forced with her family and the rest of the Jewish people in the city of Lodz into the ghettos. There, life is dangerous, and her family suffers many close calls as they see their friends and relatives taken from them. As a small child, Syvia is in more danger than the rest, and her family must take extreme measures to protect her. Still, there is nothing that can protect her from the constant hunger and the fear of discovery. At the end of the war, when the Lodz ghetto is liberated, there are only about 800 survivors out of as many as 270,000 that once lived there. Syvia is one of only twelve children to survive the Lodz ghetto. This book tells her story of growing up in the midst of the Holocaust. Based on an interview of Syvia as an adult, and written by her niece in the form of verse, this work portrays her experiences with vivid details that allow the reader a window into Syvia's childhood. A prologue, introduction, author's note, time line, and introductions to each part offer factual information that provides the reader a context for the events of the narrative.

Awards nominated: Rebecca Caudill Award 2011

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 5/31/2010

ISBN-10: 076145277X

ISBN-13: 9780761452775

Check the library catalog