Cornflakes: Poems [Hardcover]

James Stevenson (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Want to savor something really delicious? Try something snappy? Give yourself a treat? Open this book!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On the heels of James Stevenson's winsome poetry collections (the award-winning Popcorn, as well as Candy Corn and Sweet Corn) comes Cornflakes--25 poems and sketches on topics from guitars to garbage bags. Stevenson has a real knack for taking a snapshot of a fleeting association, thought, or moment. He hears music in junkyards; sees opera-goer bow ties on garbage bags; sees piglets in fat, white trucks; and personifies everything from flowers to factories. A favorite is "Paint Box": I'd like to make/ One painting/ Half as nice/ As my paint box/ Left alone." And "Match-up": "Along the shore/ The perfect shell/ Awaits the perfect child."

Stevenson perfectly encapsulates the quietest of observations with the fewest of words. His cartoonish, watercolor-splashed scritchings--loose, expressive, artful--manage to impart just the right tone. The type itself changes from poem to poem to capture the varying moods and whims of this friendly, down-to-earth collection. (Ages 7 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Following Popcorn, Sweet Corn and Candy Corn comes another collection of poems with snap, crackle and plenty of pop appeal. Stevenson once again disarms readers with his choice of subjects, his offhand ink-and-watercolor art and his wryly comic verse offering sharp new takes on objects or actions so familiar that they usually escape notice altogether. The opener, for example, "The Ascent at the Diner," pictures a cheeseburger on a paper plate, its bun secured with a frilly toothpick; the text imagines that "Somebody small and brave" has scaled the cheeseburger "And on the summit proudly stuck/ The small blue flag of Cellophane." Nothing is too lowly to be invested with charm: "My wastebasket/ Says yes to everything./ Not bad! Quite good! / Oh, excellent! / Are you sure/ You don't want that back?" Even apparent throwaway remarks make readers stop and think, as in the two-page two-liner "The Basket Man": "Every day the basket man puts all his baskets out./ Every night the basket man puts all his baskets in." The left page depicts a storefront festooned with baskets; the right page shows the bare storefront after hours--the "basket man" is notable for his absence in the art, prompting a quiet revelation about the power of the imagination (the author's as well as the audience's) to people a scene. Crammed with surprises and happy bursts of recognition, this volume will invigorate kids' abilities to observe and enjoy the world around them. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688167187
• ISBN-13: 978-0688167189
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,103,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Corn-fun Poems, April 24, 2001

By 

E. Reilly (Oxford, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cornflakes: Poems (Hardcover)

Once again, James Stevenson has united a variety of short poems that range from ryhming, to free verse, and always include a twist of one kind or another. The poems are accompanied by small watercolour and black pen sketches, or laid out in different patterns and orientations in ways that relate to the poem's subject. Varying the text size and font as well create visual images simply with just the words. While not as popular as the rhyme and simple humour of Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein, Stevenson's own work is something innovative and new, introducing children to non-rhyming free-verse. Although the humour is not the type that makes you crack out laughing, with a little extra thinking, it will definitely make you smile. The layout of the book is simple and consistant, with page numbers and titles at the top, and then the poem spread over the page or mixed with illustrations. Overall, the book seems to be a nice hidden gem filled with amusing quirks.