Customer Reviews

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout

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We recently got this book and began to read it to our 3 year old daughter - who loves poetry. While the collection had some well known classics with colorful, child-friendly illustrations by Chris Raschka, we were dismayed by several of the selections. One poem made light of suicide in a (I'm sure the poet thought witty wordplay) poem which questioned "sioux-eye-side". Another poem described a Latin American country's revolution (somewhat violent) with a background rendered in swaths of red paint.

I feel that the editor/selector of these poems didn't think through the theme well - "Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout" tends to suggest young children are the audience. Unfortunately, several of the choices were not suitable (in my opinion - I've got a Masters Degree in Elementary Education) for a young audience, and we put the book away without finishing it - and will be returning it.

Parents, be cautioned in young children are the audience.

Paul A. Janeczko (ed.), A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout (Candlewick, 2009)

Clever collection of poetry for kids that demands to be read aloud, from Lewis Caroll to Walt Whitman and covering a great deal of ground in between. Publishers' Weekly noted that "all the pieces have an edge", and I've read a review or two that cautions that some of these pieces are not suitable for younger audiences. I disagree with that assessment in the same way I disagree with any sheltering of kids, but in the end, it's all opinion and it's up to the individual parent to decide whether any piece of writing is appropriate for his or her child (and when that piece would become appropriate were one to judge in the negative). If these are things you think about, I'd suggest grabbing a copy from your local library and reading it through yourself. Probably not a bad idea anyway; too many adults read too little poetry, and whatever the age range this book targets, these poems are just as fun for adults as they are for kids (and I don't think anyone would ever refer to Whitman or Shakespeare as a guy who wrote exclusively for the kiddies anyway). Worth a look one way or the other. *** ½