Poetry Friday #14: Review: Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme by Jack Prelutsky

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme
Poems Selected by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Meilo So
2005 | 32 pages | Poetry

This is a unique collection of poems in that there is no unifying theme. Rather, each page has a theme of its own. Three published poems appear on each spread, accompanied by a "poemstart" to help the reader write a poem of his own. 

For example, on the page about food, the poems are "Crack an Egg" by Denise Rodgers, "Mashed Potatoes" by Eve Merriam, and "Eating Blueberries" by Sandra Olson Liatsos. 

"Mashed Potatoes" paints a lovely picture of a huge mountain of mashed potatoes, and urges us to "scoop it all up / with a giant's spoon." "Blueberries" evokes the exact feeling of having a blueberry in one's mouth when it says, "We found them / Big as marbles / And we rolled them / In our mouths / And bit them / Till the juice / Ran down in rivers." The poemstart then gives the reader these few lines to work with: 

I'm hungry, so I think that I

Will have a piece of penguin pie.

When that is finished, I will eat

A _______________________. 

The reader is then given a few suggestions for completing the poem and left to his own poetic devices. 

Many wonderful poets are included in this slim anthology, including Karla Kuskin, J. Patrick Lewis, Odgen Nash, Myra Cohn Livingston, Charles Ghigna, and Jack Prelutsky himself. 

Here are just a few other snippets I really liked: 

Myra Cohn Livingston's Rain tells us that summer rain is cool enough that she can "go barefoot in a pool," but when winter rain "is cold, and pours," she "must watch it from indoors." 

Tony Johnston writes a simple three-line poem, about a dog named Mutterly, whom he loves utterly, and who "makes [his] heart melt, butterly." 

Finally, Dennis Lee reflects on salient childhood memories of "chugging through the summertime / Like summer couldn't end." 

The illustrations accompanying the poems are really neat - rough lines and splotches of paint give them lots of texture and shadow, which has a very dramatic effect. 

For budding poets, classroom teachers, and poetry fans of all ages - a definite must-read!

Poetry Friday is a weekly celebration of poetry. This week's host is Book Aunt. To see my previous Poetry Friday posts, click here.

I borrowed Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme from my local public library.