Dogku
Author: Clements, Andrew
Illustrator: Bowers, Tim
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007
Genre: Poetry/Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades k-4
Plot Summary: A stray dog shows up, and finds his way into his new family's heart.
Personal Response: As a dog lover, I adore this book. The personality of Mooch shines through, and we see his "thought process" as he becomes more sure about his new home.
Literary Element: The story is told in haiku poetry. Each page is a haiku and a sequential piece of the story. "Morning brings children. Hugs, licks, barking, and laughing. Warmer than sunshine."
Illustrations: The illustrations are bright and colorful. They help explain the emotions of Mooch and the nuances of the plot, since each page's words are limited to the 5-7-5 pattern of haiku.
Review: Horn Book (Fall 2007)
Here's an original dog tale: the story of Mooch, a stray who finds a new home then nearly loses it, is told exclusively in haiku. ("Chew on dirty socks. / Roll around in week-old trash. / Ahhh...that's much better.") The haiku are funny, pensive, and affecting--sometimes all at once--and the oil paintings are just as thoughtfully executed.
Promotion: This would be a great lead-in to children writing a sequential story in poetry form. It fits well with the book, Wonton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw.
Author: Clements, Andrew
Illustrator: Bowers, Tim
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007
Genre: Poetry/Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades k-4
Plot Summary: A stray dog shows up, and finds his way into his new family's heart.
Personal Response: As a dog lover, I adore this book. The personality of Mooch shines through, and we see his "thought process" as he becomes more sure about his new home.
Literary Element: The story is told in haiku poetry. Each page is a haiku and a sequential piece of the story. "Morning brings children. Hugs, licks, barking, and laughing. Warmer than sunshine."
Illustrations: The illustrations are bright and colorful. They help explain the emotions of Mooch and the nuances of the plot, since each page's words are limited to the 5-7-5 pattern of haiku.
Review: Horn Book (Fall 2007)
Here's an original dog tale: the story of Mooch, a stray who finds a new home then nearly loses it, is told exclusively in haiku. ("Chew on dirty socks. / Roll around in week-old trash. / Ahhh...that's much better.") The haiku are funny, pensive, and affecting--sometimes all at once--and the oil paintings are just as thoughtfully executed.
Promotion: This would be a great lead-in to children writing a sequential story in poetry form. It fits well with the book, Wonton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw.
If Not for the Cat, Parents' Choice Silver Honor
Author: Prelutsky, Jack
Illustrator: Rand, Ted
Publisher: Scholastic, 2004
Genre: Poetry
Recommended Audience: Grades k-4
Plot Summary: In this group of haiku poems, each haiku leads you to guess an animal - "If not for the cat, And the scarcity of cheese, I could be content." - A Mouse
Personal Response: This is a great book for keeping the kids engaged. They love to guess which animal the poem is telling them about.
Literary Element: Each page is a different haiku poem. "I spend all my time, Picking ants up with my tongue. It's a busy life."
Illustrations: The beautifully painted illustrations guide you to the answers to each animal riddle - the answers are not given in any other form.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (September 15, 2004)
Prelutsky changes pace and adopts a philosophical tone in a set of animal riddles framed as first-person haiku: "Gaudily feathered, / With nothing at all to say, / I can't stop talking." Answers are provided at the end, but they're superfluous, as Rand fills each spread with gorgeous inked-and-brushed figures; the parrot's plumage is more iridescent than "gaudy," a skunk's white stripes and tail explode like fireworks against a solidly black background, a mouse peers anxiously through its dimly lit hole, inches away from a feline nose. "If not for the cat, / And the scarcity of cheese, / I could be content." As the solutions are there on the page, this works best if children don't see the picture until they've heard the riddle, and had a chance to guess who's posing it. But even in this uncharacteristic form, Prelutsky's poetry is as engaging as ever, Rand has outdone himself, and the collaboration is likely to become as much of a storytime favorite as Beatrice Schenk De Regniers's classic It Does Not Say Meow (1972). (Picture book/poetry. 5-8)
Promotion: This is a nice introduction to children writing their own haiku riddles about animals.
Author: Prelutsky, Jack
Illustrator: Rand, Ted
Publisher: Scholastic, 2004
Genre: Poetry
Recommended Audience: Grades k-4
Plot Summary: In this group of haiku poems, each haiku leads you to guess an animal - "If not for the cat, And the scarcity of cheese, I could be content." - A Mouse
Personal Response: This is a great book for keeping the kids engaged. They love to guess which animal the poem is telling them about.
Literary Element: Each page is a different haiku poem. "I spend all my time, Picking ants up with my tongue. It's a busy life."
Illustrations: The beautifully painted illustrations guide you to the answers to each animal riddle - the answers are not given in any other form.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (September 15, 2004)
Prelutsky changes pace and adopts a philosophical tone in a set of animal riddles framed as first-person haiku: "Gaudily feathered, / With nothing at all to say, / I can't stop talking." Answers are provided at the end, but they're superfluous, as Rand fills each spread with gorgeous inked-and-brushed figures; the parrot's plumage is more iridescent than "gaudy," a skunk's white stripes and tail explode like fireworks against a solidly black background, a mouse peers anxiously through its dimly lit hole, inches away from a feline nose. "If not for the cat, / And the scarcity of cheese, / I could be content." As the solutions are there on the page, this works best if children don't see the picture until they've heard the riddle, and had a chance to guess who's posing it. But even in this uncharacteristic form, Prelutsky's poetry is as engaging as ever, Rand has outdone himself, and the collaboration is likely to become as much of a storytime favorite as Beatrice Schenk De Regniers's classic It Does Not Say Meow (1972). (Picture book/poetry. 5-8)
Promotion: This is a nice introduction to children writing their own haiku riddles about animals.