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MR. FERLINGHETTI’S POEM

Name: MR. FERLINGHETTI’S POEM
Author: David Frampton
ISBN: 0-8028-5290-4

by David Frampton & illustrated by David Frampton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2006

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On a long-ago, hot summer’s day in Brooklyn, the firemen turn on their hoses in the middle of the street. The neighborhood kids run through the water, and, for a brief time, they are transported to a fresh cool place. But were there a couple of dozen kids, or six kids, or only Molly and the boy? Is Mr. Ferlinghetti’s memory faulty, or is the whole incident a case of poetic license? Frampton’s charming narration perfectly sets the stage for Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem, “just the way he wrote it.” Bold, strongly outlined woodcuts in shades of brown, gold and green are filled with joyful movement as the hoses carry the delighted children higher and higher until they nearly sail off the page. An artist’s note provides a brief introduction and homage to Ferlinghetti. A work to savor again and again, finding new delights with each perusal. (Picture book. 5-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-8028-5290-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SONG OF FRANCIS AND THE ANIMALS
by Pat Mora & illustrated by David Frampton

- BOOK REVIEW
AT JERUSALEM’S GATE
by Nikki Grimes & illustrated by David Frampton

- BOOK REVIEW
RHYOLITE
by Diane Siebert & illustrated by David Frampton

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POCKET POEMS

edited by Bobbi Katz & illustrated by Marylin Hafner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2004

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With an eye toward easy memorization, Katz gathers over 50 short poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Valerie Worth, Jack Prelutsky, and Lewis Carroll, to such anonymous gems as “The Burp”—“Pardon me for being rude. / It was not me, it was my food. / It got so lonely down below, / it just popped up to say hello.” Katz includes five of her own verses, and promotes an evident newcomer, Emily George, with four entries. Hafner surrounds every selection with fine-lined cartoons, mostly of animals and children engaged in play, reading, or other familiar activities. Amid the ranks of similar collections, this shiny-faced newcomer may not stand out—but neither will it drift to the bottom of the class. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-525-47172-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
NOTHING BUT A DOG
by Bobbi Katz and illustrated by Jane Manning

- BOOK REVIEW
MORE POCKET POEMS
by Bobbi Katz & illustrated by Deborah Zemke

- BOOK REVIEW
ONCE AROUND THE SUN
by Bobbi Katz & illustrated by LeUyen Pham

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DINOSAURS GALORE!

by Giles Andreae & illustrated by David Wojtowycz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2005

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A dozen familiar dinosaurs introduce themselves in verse in this uninspired, if colorful, new animal gallery from the authors of Commotion in the Ocean (2000). Smiling, usually toothily, and sporting an array of diamonds, lightning bolts, spikes and tiger stripes, the garishly colored dinosaurs make an eye-catching show, but their comments seldom measure up to their appearance: “I’m a swimming reptile, / I dive down in the sea. / And when I spot a yummy squid, / I eat it up with glee!” (“Ichthyosaurus”) Next to the likes of Kevin Crotty’s Dinosongs (2000), illustrated by Kurt Vargo, or Jack Prelutsky’s classic Tyrannosaurus Was A Beast (1988), illustrated by Arnold Lobel, there’s not much here to roar about. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)