Poetry Monday

Today at the Bluebird Cafe: A Branchful of Birds by Deborah Ruddell. Illustrated by Joan Rankin. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007.

Funny, thoughtful, and lyrical short poems about birds. Anyone who has seen these birds in action knows this poet has captured them beautifully.

Describing the Cardinal in one word -- valentineSantaClaustotallyred. Yup. That's the color of a Cardinal.

Rankin's watercolor illustrations sweep across the page. The Eagle needs a double page spread to capture its flight. And the tostled head Kingfisher is a "blue-streakin' flash" as he dives from one page to the other, catching fish.

"It's all-you-can-eat at the Bluebird Cafe," so enjoy.

Wow. Talk about international publishing. The author lives in the USA and the illustrator lives in Johannesburg, South Africa!

As I write this, The Bluebird Cafe is a bargan book at Amazon.com. If you hurry you can get this normally $15.99 book for just $6.99. What a deal!

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This is probably going to be the last Poetry Monday -- until next April. Next month I'll go back to doing Nonfiction Monday book reviews and articles. However, if you want to know what I've been doing in the nonfiction area lately, just check the previous post. I spent the weekend working on nonfiction stuff.

-wendieO

Poetry Monday -- Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky, the classic poem from Lewis Carroll's Through the LookingGlass and What Alice Found There -- reimagined and illustrated by Christopher Myers. Hyperion Books for Children, 2007

Another poetry post on Nonfiction Monday -- just because Poetry is in the nonfiction collection.

I always thought I could understand the poem Jabberwocky -- if only I listened hard enough. It almost sounds as if it makes sense. Boy goes off, is warned against a monster. (the Jabberwock) Actually, not just one monster. There's also a Jubjub Bird and the Frumious Bandersnatch! Defeats same and comes home to celebration.
That's a simple enough medieval warrior explaination.

But Chris Myers goes beyond that. He decided that it might be related to ancient hoop games similar to our basketball -- and illustrated it in modern basketball terms.

Wow, he's playing with our head.

The Jabberwock is now a huge basketball player with 14 fingers on his huge hands (the claws that clutch) which the local boy must face and defeat on a city basketball court.

"Calllooh! Callay!" (Hoorah, Hooray!)
He does!

See -- the poem almost makes sense.
-wendieO

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