BookSpeak! Poems About Books

 

In this poetry picture book, Laura Purdie Salas has collected a group of fun, slightly wacky, but engaging poems for young readers--and the subject is BOOKS.  There are numerous literary allusions; for example, in "Cliffhanger", a dog is clinging to rocks while a whale swims below, and the words plead: "Please, author, write a sequel fast!".  "The Middle's Lament" is a three-voice poem where the beginning, middle and end of a book discuss who's best and most important to the story.  People who produce books are honored in "This is the Book".  With its variety of poetic forms, and effective use of several language arts terms, this is a sure thing for elementary language arts classes.  The mixed media illustrations by Jose'e Bisaillon fill the pages with color and imagination.  A teacher's activity guide can be found here.  This won the Minnesota Book Award in 2012.