Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices [Hardcover]

Paul B. Janeczko (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Pssst...reader!

I've got something to tell you.

I'm not just another book of poetry.

I'm full of voices you've never heard before.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a turtle, a snowflake, or a pile of dirty laundry?

All sorts of objects and animals speak up in these poems that are just shouting to be read.

So what are you waiting for? Check me out!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These well-chosen verses represent what Janeczko (Very Best [Almost] Friends) calls "persona or mask poems" each written in the voice of an object or animal. Bobbi Katz's washing machine sings its washing songs "Blub-blub-a-dubba" while Patricia Hubbell's vacuum cleaner complains, "I swallow twigs./ I slurp dead bugs," and finally threatens, "I think I'll swallow you today!" Informally organized around various topics, the volume begins with poems about wind and weather and ends with works about insects and animals. For the most part, the poems, including selections by Douglas Florian, Jane Yolen and Karla Kuskin, are effectively matched by Sweet's (Bat Jamboree) playful and cartoony watercolors. The light mood of the illustrations, however, jars with slightly darker poems. In Nina Nyhart's "Scarecrow Dreams," for example, five crows perch on a wary scarecrow's shoulder as he describes convincing the farmer to put away his gun and then feels "a step on my shoulder,/ the first peck in my eye." Nonetheless, this collection contains well-crafted poetry that surprises with its deft wordplay and original points of view. All ages. (June)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Janeczko's collection of "persona" or "mask" poems-poems written in voices of nonhuman things-is varied in topic, mood, and quality. The selector has included many crackerjack poets, such as Karla Kuskin, Bobbi Katz, Lillian Moore, and Douglas Florian, and a few whose names are not as familiar. Most of the selections have been taken from other anthologies. Whether thoughtful or humorous in nature, many of them are on-target descriptions of a variety of unrelated objects-a kite, roots, a sky-blue crayon, a vacuum cleaner, a pair of red gloves, the winter wind. The cleverness of the best of these descriptions voiced by inanimate narrators might entice young people to try to create some similar verses of their own. Sweet's bright, colorful watercolors in a flat cartoon style depict full- and double-page scenes and borders that feature critters and objects from the poems. Consider this one for classroom read-alouds.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (May 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688162517
• ISBN-13: 978-0688162511
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices, November 29, 2007

By 

Carol M. Gianopoulos - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices (Paperback)

Using this book in my third grade classroom has really improved my students fluency and sparked an interest in reading for my reluctant readers! It's a great find.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 3, 2009

By 

Jorge Mojarro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices (Hardcover)

This a wonderful book written in the first person perspective. This is a great addition to any teacher that is teaching a poetry unit. My students loved the book and used concepts from the book to generate great poems. A must have for any teacher.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic mask poems for children, March 7, 2009

By 

Pamela Hawkins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices (Hardcover)

This book was exactly what I was looking for to use with my students.
It was great for teaching children how to write mask (or persona) poems.
It arrived quickly and was in fantastic condition.