Noisy Poems for a Busy Day

Citation

Heidbreder, Robert, and Lori Smith Joy. Noisy Poems for a Busy Day. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2012. ISBN: 1554537061

Poetic Elements

This book of poetry would be considered free verse with end rhyme. The poet does follow a 4/3 or 4/4 syllable pattern in each of the poems with funny exclamations or words at the end. It is consistent in this way. You do find yourself reading each of the poems with a certain rhythm, like a child be-bopping through their day. There are a great deal of nonsense words that add to the excitement of these poems such as “...ziff zim zoom...” , “...ala-ka-zee! Ala-ka-zopper!...” and “...crissle-sissle...” There is frequent alliteration as well with “...swish-swash-swirr...” and phrases similar to this. One of the most appealing aspects to this book of poetry is that it feels like it's written in the language of children, using words that they might use in their everyday conversations. The imagery and motifs associated with childhood come through with every poem. One of my favorite things about this book is how, through the course of the day, the poems Off to Breakfast, Time for Lunch, and Dinner Time are the same at their core with an increasingly extended dialogue at the end, similar to real life as my children are often extending the dialogue by a whole lot!

Appeal and Overall Quality

This book will be immensely appealing to younger kids with its wording and all around silliness. I tested it on my seven year old son, and I can verify that he enjoyed taking turns reading through the entire book of poems, studying and noticing things in each of the illustrations, and commenting on the nonsense words that seemed perfectly suited to each individual poem. It follows the natural course of a child's day from jumping out of bed to playing to getting dirty to having an argument to the very end of the day. These are all events that a child can and will relate to, and here he writes about them in an easy and endearing manner. All of the moods and emotions that the characters in the poetry book experience will be easy to mimic and relate to for the reader enjoying the book.

While the table of contents at the beginning looks overwhelming, with a massive number of poems shown, the reality is that the poems themselves are short. They are generally spread out one poem per page, although five of the poems do garner a full two page spread. The pencil drawings are almost cartoonish in nature and are colored in a soft earthy color palette. It's enjoyable to the eyes and so much fun to read!

Spotlight Poem

Off to Breakfast

Scrunchy munch-up.

Sloppy slurp.

Swibble down.

Big belch – BURP!

“What do you say?”

“Excuse me!”

Follow-Up Activity

These poems use a lot of nonsense words and conversation. I would utilize this poem, and all of the other poems contained within the book, in a discussion with younger students as we talk about the natural course of our day. These would also be fun to act out with a friend. They are short enough to remember and put a lot of emotion into acting them out. Then we would work together to write a class poem about something, some event, from our day while trying to keep this same style.

Reviews

"... a warm portrait of suburban daily life ..." --Kirkus Reviews

"Heidbreder knows his audience and how to prompt a gush of giggles and tickles from young children ... This is a well-conceived and executed book ..." --School Library Journal

"... an accessible and entertaining collection for preschoolers." --Publishers Weekly