Module 14: Poetry and Story Collections

Module 13/SLIS5420

The Wonder Book

By  Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paul Schmid

Summary:

The Wonder Book is a compilation of poems, short stories, palindromes, classic and original with beautiful black and white eye catching illustrations by Paul Schmid.  The concept behind the book is shared beautifully from the beginning, encouraging readers to wonder and exploring that wonder through all these poetry and story forms.

Citation:

Rosenthal, A. K., & Schmid, P. (2010). The wonder book. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Beyond and Between:

The Wonder Book is a perfect engaging read for parents and children.  It has the classic’s like Mary had a little lamb and then it has new original poems written  or collected by the author.  The simple illustrations perfectly tie into the poem or story and often creating laughter opportunities or questions to help the reader ‘wonder’ too.  For example, in one little poem of truth was so funny, but at the same time totally engaging to children (most likely boys).  The poem was about the reality of how children pea in the water while swimming,  slightly disturbing to an adult, but delightfully funny to the little boys I read this too.  The little poem had 5 lines, but it was the picture of the little boy in the water, almost looking proud that made the poem so funny.

Reviews:

Kirkus

An uneven collection of poems and witticisms, the very best of which evoke Shel Silverstein. Several poems are takes on old standbys, such as "It Could Be Verse": "Eeny Meeny and Miney Moe / Caught a tiger with their tow / The tiger hollered; they wouldn't let go / No more Eeny Meeny or Miney Moe." Others are short and super silly: "Tinkle / Tinkle / In the sea / Don't look under / While I pee…" Some of the most successful pieces are those in which Schmid's black-and-white drawings are integral to the poem's meaning. In the palindromes section, for example, "Won ton? Not now," is illustrated with a picture of a little girl offering a won ton to a boy who is hanging upside down while being squeezed by a large snake. Even when they are not absolutely necessary to the meaning of the poems, the illustrations, dynamic and expressive, lend a degree of charm and whimsy to a serviceable, often funny, collection. (Poetry. 8-12)

The Wonder Book. (2010). Kirkus Reviews, 78(5), 209.

Publishers Weekly

This waggish collection combines poems, wordplay, and black ink illustrations to Silversteinian effect. Familiar nursery rhymes are comically recast ("This little piggy played the stock market"), puns run rampant, a poem about a "backwards prince" is meant to be read backwards itself, and there are some winning palindromes ("Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?"). An occasional gag falls flat ("I wonder why people don't replace them when they take showers?"), but the sheer diversity of silliness ensures that there is something (funny) for everyone. Ages 5-10. (Mar.)

The Wonder Book. (2010). Publishers Weekly, 257(6), 48.

Suggested Uses:

As a whole book of collected poems, I don’t know if I would use it all at one time.  However, picking a poem and using it in story time would be something I would do.  Or I could create a palindrome myself for a display and share this book/other poem books as examples of other poetry formats.  In both these ways I would use The Wonder Book in my library.