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COME TO MY PARTY

Name: COME TO MY PARTY
Author: Heidi B. Roemer
ISBN: 0-8050-6620-9

AND OTHER SHAPE POEMS

by Heidi B. Roemer & illustrated by Hideko Takahashi ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2004

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Text and pictures blend seamlessly in this outstanding offering—no mean feat, as Roemer’s rhymes are all shaped to evoke seasonal sights: the V’s of nestlings’ open beaks and skeins of migrating geese, the fall of raindrops, the twist of a garden hose, the paths of “Dancing Leaves” in autumn. Read aloud, the verses irresistibly invite audience participation—“I take my little rake and my hoe, hoe, hoe; / And break up clods of dirt in each row, row, row”—but lend themselves to silent appreciation too, as color changes, type sizes, and artful placement work together to make them easily legible, even to less-practiced readers. Takahashi folds the shaped lines into her simple, richly hued outdoor scenes with seeming effortlessness, letting words not only rest within the compositions, but become elements of them, as Christmas tree branches, menorah candles, an owl’s crest, dandelion fluff. She also adds visual surprises and stories of her own, from a child’s face that dramatically transforms into a snowman’s across the gutter to a teeter-tottering mother and daughter with different skin tones. A strong debut for Roemer and Takahashi’s most inventive work yet. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-8050-6620-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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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)