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
