Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems [Hardcover]

Heidi Roemer (Author), Hideko Takahashi (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

An invigorating celebration of the seasons and poems that take shape

The twist of spring rain. The arc of summer waves. The roundness of fall pumpkins. The curve of winter snow-covered hills. These are just a few of the many shapes found among the four seasons.
So come celebrate the year in this spirited rhyming collection of concrete poems-poems shaped by their subjects that wind, bump, and wiggle across each page. From spring through winter and back again, here's an exuberant excursion that takes delight in the special details of a child's world.

 

Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems is a 2005 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A poetic celebration of seasonal fun. Most of the selections are no more than one or two lines, while the longest verses are four lines. All of them are simple, with rhyming that's both easy to anticipate and to remember. The many instances of repetition ("hoe, hoe, hoe" with "row, row, row") and lots of sound words ("rumple, diddle, dumpling," "splashy, splashy," "hippety, clippety clap") make these poems enjoyable to hear and say. To add to the fun, words and lines are used to form clever and sometimes unexpected shapes and images, such as birds' beaks, a kite's string, or the ocean's waves. The poems feature kids playing in the sand, sledding in the snow, or chasing autumn leaves. The palette is filled with bright, jazzy colors both in the illustrations and in the fonts used with shaped words. Like Brad Burg's Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play (Putnam, 2002) and Paul B. Janeczko's A Poke in the I (Candlewick, 2001), this collection will enchant young audiences and help them look at their worlds in a new light.
Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 3. Simple, bright paintings match the tone in the playful, upbeat concrete poems that make up this debut collection. Organized into four seasonal sections, the poems celebrate universal experiences straight from a child's world (staying dry under an umbrella in a rainstorm or flying a kite) as well as experiences specific to each time of year: in winter, for example, there are both Hanukkah and Christmas selections. There is a range of sophistication. Some poems seem geared toward the preschool set with nursery rhyme nonsense: "By the splishy, splashy ocean, where we wiggly giggly play." Other selections use abstract metaphors that elementary-school children may better appreciate: "Winter's icy fingers grip the gutter's numb unsmiling lip." Throughout, Roemer maintains an ear for delicious sounds and rolling rhythms that beg to be read, or sung, aloud, and children will delight in the poems' clever, whimsical shapes, which are reinforced by Takahashi's cheery, elemental artwork. Suggest Brad Berg's Outside the Lines (2001) for another winning collection of concrete poetry. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805066209
• ISBN-13: 978-0805066203
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Heidi Bee Roemer's debut book, COME TO MY PARTY AND OTHER SHAPE POEMS, (Henry Holt, 2004) received starred reviews and is a nominee for the Monarch Award, Mockingbird Award, and Great Lakes' Great Books Award. Her newest books, WHAT KINDS OF SEEDS ARE THESE?(2006) and WHOSE NEST IS THIS? (2009) have also been well received.

Since 1995, Heidi has served The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators-Illinois in various capacities. She is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and a writer-in-residence for several Chicago public schools. "Heidi Bee" has visited nearly 100 schools and libraries, sharing her enthusiasm for writing and inspiring students to become better readers and writers!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever!, November 29, 2004

By 

A. Johnson "children's book lover" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems (Hardcover)

What a great way to present poetry -- through shapes! The text of each of these poems is cleverly patterned like its topic, with adorable illustrations enhancing them. For example: a poem about rain has the words drizzle down like rain drops and then form the shape of an umbrella. The poems themselves are fun and representitive of some of childhood's most engaging activities and holidays. Poet, Heidi B. Roemer, has a true poet's ear that taps into the heart of children. Hideko Takahashi's illustrations of children of all colors are irresistable. Her bold and muted coloring seem to find the right balance to add even more delight to each poem. This book would be great in the classroom when studying poetry. It's a great way to introduce new poetry styles to children. But, it's also fun to read and look at. If this book doesn't get young ones hooked on poetry I don't know what will!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kirkus Starred Review, March 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems (Hardcover)

KIRKUS Starred REVIEW:

Roemer, Heidi B.
March 01, 2004 - Text and pictures blend seamlessly in this outstanding offering-no mean feat, as Roemer's rhymes are all shaped to evoke seasonal sights: the V's of nestlings' open beaks and skeins of migrating geese, the fall of raindrops, the twist of the garden hose, the paths of "Dancing Leaves" in autumn. Read aloud, the verses irresistibly invite
audience participation--"I take my little rake and my hoe, hoe, hoe;/And break up clods of firt in each row, row, row"-- but lend themselves to silent appreciation, too, as color changes, type sizes and artful placement work together to make them easily legible, even to less-practiced readers.

Takahashi folds the shaped lines into her simple, richly hued outdoor scenes with seeming effortlessness, letting words not only rest within the compositions, but become elements of them, as Christmas tree branches, menorah candles, an owl's crest, and dandelion fluff. She also adds visual surprises and stories of her own, from a child's face that dramatically transforms into a snowman's, to a teeter-tottering mother and daughter with
different skin tones.

A strong debut for Roemer and Takahashi's most inventive work
yet. (Picture book/poetry, 6 - 9)

5.0 out of 5 stars Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems, October 2, 2009

By 

Linda L. Lacey (Maple Pk, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems (Hardcover)

The author's creativity seems limitless in this book as she provides not only pleasing descriptions, such as "summer snowflakes made of fluff" for dandelions, but places the words so that they make the shape of the dandelion! Her words make a perfect mental picture of the object such as "a sliver, a slice, deliciously nice" for a watermelon. In her "Celebrate" poem, just looking at it, the words forming a flowing flag shape, gives a sense of joyousness and celebration. I can hardly pick a favorite, but "Good-bye Winter" shaped like a rainbow, filling the sky with pent-up springtime emotions, would certainly be one of them.