Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems (I Can Read Book 2) [Hardcover]

Lee Bennett Hopkins (Author), Sachiko Yoshikawa (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2008 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: I Can Read Book 2

From the very first day of the school year, there is so much to do! So grab your backpack, hop on that school bus, and don't forget your lunch. Whether you're practicing for the spelling bee or getting ready for the big school play, there isn't a moment to lose!

Lee Bennett Hopkins delivers an assortment of twenty spectacular poems from writers such as Jane Yolen, Alice Schertle, and J. Patrick Lewis that are perfect for show-and-tell. Sachiko Yoshikawa's vivid illustrations are sure to delight the whole class!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—Lighthearted verses provide a sense of wonder and joy with such age-old topics as backpacks, lunch bags, and erasers. Poets include Alice Schertle, J. Patrick Lewis, and David L. Harrison. Yoshikawa's bright cartoons are ebullient. Bruce Lansky's No More Homework! No More Tests! (Meadowbrook, 1997) is similar in tone, but Hamsters is for newly independent readers.—Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT
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From Booklist

Contributed by well-known poets for young people (Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, Alice Schertle, among others), the poems in this bright compilation in the I Can Read! series describe a wide range of school experiences, from humorous scenes of hamsters on the loose to students’ dreaming up their own lines of verse: “Pencil stub, I must / ask myself: How many more / poems are in you?” The selections range in style from haikus to free verse, although many poems follow a bouncy, rhyming structure. All are written in accessible words targeted straight to emerging readers, but pre-literate children will appreciate hearing descriptions of warm classroom moments, such as finding a sweet note from Mom in a lunch bag and a story time spent “close to friends / on a fuzzy red rug / like one big family.” The jellybean-bright, cartoon-style illustrations sometimes overwhelm the words on busy spreads, but these reassuring poems will find an accepting audience among both young readers and listeners. Preschool-Grade 3. --Gillian Engberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060741120
• ISBN-13: 978-0060741129
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,097,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars These school poems are very alluring and this will be a quick, fun read for some children!, May 30, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems (I Can Read Book 2) (Hardcover)

Each year children are anxious to get back to school and everyone is very excited, leastways for the first week or so! For children who are just starting school for the first time it can be a nervous, but very exciting venture. In this book are twenty fun and exciting poems all about an assortment of school related activities, events and people. Jane Yolen, Linda Kulp, J. Patrick Lewis and many other well known poets have contributed to this youthful poetry anthology. Do you like the rhythmical sounds of poetry being recited? Perhaps you can find a poem in here you can memorize before the first day of school!

My Teacher

My teacher
loves
reading books aloud
putting up new bulletin boards
taking vacations by the sea

but-

best of all
my teacher
loves
ME.

-Lee Bennett Hopkins

This beautifully illustrated, very colorful book is a level two "I can Read Book." The poems are alluring and this will be a quick read for some children. Many children need to be nudged toward poetry, but this one is a lot of fun. It would be perfect as a read aloud book in a homeschool or classroom setting. There is an index of authors and titles in the back of the book. You will even learn about Hamster Math. Hmmmmm, I wonder what that could be?