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PAINT ME A POEM

Name: PAINT ME A POEM
Author: Justine Rowden
ISBN: 1-59078-289-5

POEMS INSPIRED BY MASTERPIECES OF ART

by Justine Rowden ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2005

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Rowden pairs 14 paintings from the National Gallery with prosaic ruminations about their colors, imagined commentary from their subjects or observations on a selected detail. The art, which includes two American folk paintings, Leonardo’s Ginevra de’ Benci and works from the likes of Renoir, Derain and Rothko, is reproduced with fair fidelity, labeled on the page and followed up at the end with paragraphs of random facts about each artist. Though the designer tries hard to pump up the poems with changes of color, line shape and typeface, there’s not much that can be done with lines like, “The ladies with hats that flatter / Don’t permit cups to clatter / Nor tea to splatter / On silvery platters,” (“Oh So Perfect”) or “The sky is full / Of fuzzy white polka dots.” (“Moving White Fluffs”). With better pairings of art and words like Jan Greenberg’s Heart To Heart (2001), Charles Sullivan’s Imaginary Gardens (1989) or the classic Talking to the Sun (1985) available, this is an additional item at best. (Poetry. 7-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005

ISBN: 1-59078-289-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S POETRY

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)