Poetry and other books for summer reading

Summer time, time for relaxing, reading and reflecting. Some good books of poetry as well as other fun books to read aloud on these lazy days. Enjoy!

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
 

Concrete poems are those that give a visual representation of what the poem is about. One of my favorite was a circle of words: Hola! Gutentag! Boujour! Welcome to the circle tour. No one needs a ticket here. We take this trip every year. Bon voyage! It’s nonstop fun as earth revolves around” And then in the middle, a smaller circle with just the words: “the sun.” So many poems, so many word pictures! So much inspiration!

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie Fogliano, 

Pictures by Julie Morstad

Poems for every season, each one labeled with a date to give it a personal touch. Mostly free-verse, some just a few words and some list poems, like this one for March 24: what the snow left behind/was a red scarf/next to a wooden carrot/one blue mitten/a big snow shovel/a little snow shovel/and mud/and mud/ and mud/ and more mud/and muddy mud/and mud

These poems were made for sharing and for imitating, sometimes for laughing and always for thinking.

Good Night Truck by Sally Odgers, Illustrated by Heath McKenzie

A modern version of Good Night Moon, with rhyming couplets about all kinds of transportation: trucks, diggers, tractors, boats. All of these are anthropomorphized with shining eyes and crazy eyebrows, drawn in off-beat colors that fit with the busy colorful backgrounds. In the end, all the vehicles are tucked in for the night and the truck gets to cozy down with the narrator as he/she snuggles in bed.

And now for a touch of whimsy, or if you prefer, just plain silliness!

Music Class Today! By David Weinstone, Pictures by Vin Vogel

David Weinstone started teaching Music for Aardvarks almost 20 years ago. His interactive music classes are illustrated herewith whimsical, multi-generational and multi-racial participants. One of Weinstone’s CDs would have made a nice addition to this book, as the major focus of the story is left to our imagination.

Bunny Dreams by Peter McCarty

What do bunnies know? What do bunnies dream? This whimsical story takes us through the day and night of a group of bunnies, whose names all begin with B. On each page, the bunnies are drawn to represent different scenarios, sometimes with letters on their bodies, sometimes with wings. But, my favorite pages are the ones where the bunnies are wearing little striped sweaters to make them look like they are bumble bee bunnies. Kind of weird, but in a good way!

The Fintastic Fishsitter: A Big Fat Goldfish Adventure by Mo O’Hara, Illustrated by Marek Jacucki

What I liked about this book:

1.     The main characters are Indian-American, you don’t find that in children’s books, maybe never!

2.     The other characters are a zombie fish and a clever cat, you might find these in other children’s books, but rarely together.

3.     The fish and the cat are both kind of evil, but the girl prevails in the end, getting them to play nicely together.

4.     The humor is not lost on adults or little ones.

Is that enough? Try it, you’ll like it!

Go, Little Green Truck! By Roni Schotter, pictures by Julia Kuo

Little Green is a useful pick-up truck who is displaced by Big Blue when Farmer Gray’s farm grew. Little Green is now lonely, sitting to the side and not being driven. Until finally one day, Fern (notice the name of the farmer’s daughter, sound familiar to you children’s book lovers?) finds lonely Little Green and determines that this truck should be used for trips to the Farmers’ Market. All ends well, with Little Green once again feeling useful! Lots of metaphors here as well as luscious pictures of the farm, all the animals and vegetables! And who can not fall for a book with a farmer’s daughter named Fern?

Let’s Go to the Hardware Store by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Mellissa Iwai
 

Buying a new house means a trip to the hardware store, for sure, so Daddy sets out to get what he needs, accompanied by Flora and the narrator, a little boy who remains unnamed. They explore and buy a myriad of tools that are clearly illustrated and labeled. They even get a birdhouse kit at the end of the trip. But, they forgot the one thing Mommy asked for: picture hangers. So off they go again to the hardware story. Anyone who has ever done any DIY in the home knows how important the trips to the hardware store are!