A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys [Paperback]

Charles Ghigna (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Everything about this book is understated. The physical dimensions are diminutive, the pictures are tiny black-and-white silhouettes, and the type is simple and uncluttered. It is the perfect book for boys who might not want to advertise the fact that they are reading poetry (except, perhaps, to the attractive girls who sit behind them in English class). Ghigna not only has a good sense of description and metaphor, but also of sound and rhythm. In "The Leopard of Loneliness," "Loneliness, the leopard,/Stalks the heart;/He captures his prey/And tears it apart." The cadence is slow, like a stalking predator, until the last line. Ten of the 46 poems are about sports, but the rest range widely in topic from "The Beach" to a "Haircut." There is a good balance of funny and serious, rhyming and free verse. The poems are targeted at teens, but are appropriate for younger children as well. A colloquial foreword by X. J. Kennedy tells of his first encounters with poetry and gives encouragement to both the uninitiated and to closet poetry readers.
Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590781880
• ISBN-13: 978-1590781883
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Boys & Men > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Charles Ghigna (FATHER GOOSE) is the author of more than 50 award-winning books from Random House, Disney, Hyperion, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Abrams and other publishers. His books have been featured on ABC's "Good Morning America," PBS and NPR. He is a poet, children's author, speaker, and nationally syndicated feature writer who promotes the love of poetry and children's literature throughout the world and the author of more than 5000 poems for children and adults. His poems have appeared in hundreds of textbooks, anthologies, magazines from The New Yorker and Harper's to Cricket and Highlights. His poems also appear in the national SAT and ACT tests. He has served as poetry editor of The English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English and has presented poetry programs at the Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Library in Paris, the International Schools of South America and at hundreds of other schools, colleges, conferences, libraries, book fairs, and literary events throughout the world.

For more information, please visit the Father Goose web site at www.FatherGoose.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bones of Poetry, April 8, 2007

By 

Gwynne C. Spencer (Mancos, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys (Paperback)

Most boys don't like poetry unless it's Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky so Ghighna has a tough task to get into the kid's backpacks, but this little book might just do the trick. Kids might also want to try their hand at writing their OWN poems based on the titles of these poems, as well as enjoying the poems themselves. For older boys, tougher boys, after this book is devoured, I'd also get them reading Jimmy Santiago Baca or Jason Yurcic's collections as a start on poetry-as-language-of-the-heart without the pink froth and lace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Delight for Boys, May 9, 2006

By 

R. Collier "The Writing Doctor" (Greater Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys (School & Library Binding)

Don't let the size or cost of this little treasure fool you. Between the covers there is a variety of poetry that would be readable to the most reluctant male readers. Goofy, fun, depressing, shocking... there is a range of emotional responses for readers here that is rare for such a small volume by one author. I had read a previous customer review on this site and almost didn't read this book because of the negativity. All I can say is that she must have been female. As an educator of 33 years who is vitally concerned about the growing gender gap in boys' literacy in our schools, I am glad that I did. This slim volume certainly carries with it keys that could unlock a boy's mind to the possibilities of the written (and spoken) word. A "must-have" for English teachers in the 5-7th grade range, or for any parent who would like his/her son to experience really accessible poetry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth purchasing, December 28, 2004

By 

L. Bligh "Teacher, Wife and Grad Student" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys (Paperback)

I purchased this book as a I began preparing a unit on poetry. I noticed that most of my books had very little that would interest any of my male students. The selections in this book are too cliche. It seems as though the author thought boys don't like poetry so lets compile a bunch of very short, simple poems that pertain to male topics like sports, little sisters, and not liking homework and then they'll read it. The poetry has little to no thought in it. At least they could be humourous, but they're not even that. I Never Said I Wasn't Difficult by Sara Holbrook or various other titles by Sara Holbrook would be much better choices.
*Mr. Charles Ghigna and the Random House Company have been very accomodating to me and I appreciate their excellent customer service. The very graciously returned the book.