A FOOT IN THE MOUTH
Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout
edited by Paul B. Janeczko & illustrated by Chris Raschka
In the spirit of this team’s previous anthologies A Poke in the I (2001) and A Kick in the Head (2005), this collection rounds up 37 quirky poems “chosen because they are terrific candidates for reading aloud,” according to the introduction. Here, the Jabberwock rears its manxome head and “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” pop up in their pea-green boat, but contemporary voices such as Douglas Florian and Sandra Cisneros join the chorus too. The poems are organized by type, including tongue twisters, poems for two and three voices, bilingual poems and limericks (one of which pluckily rhymes Boise, noisy and New Joisy!). David McCord’s “The Pickety Fence” will have youngsters grabbing sticks and heading out the door: “The pickety fence / The pickety fence / Give it a lick it’s / The pickety fence.” Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s “Where Lizzie Lived: A Haunted Tale” is ripe for reciting in the dead of night. Raschka’s vivacious ink, watercolor and torn-paper illustrations capture the giddy spirit, sound and movement of this playful, sometimes edgy, collection. (Poetry. 8-12)