Pocket Poems [Hardcover]

Bobbi Katz (Author), Marilyn Hafner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2004 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Here’s the perfect book for celebrating and spreading the word about Poem-in-Your- Pocket Day. This lively collection is packed with kid-friendly “pocket-size” poems, most of them eight lines or less, by such well-known poets as Eve Merriam, Jack Prelutsky, and the anthologist herself, Bobbi Katz. The easy- to-memorize, pint-size poems reflect many different facets of children’s lives and are embellished with witty, winning art by the beloved Marylin Hafner, making a package that will be welcomed by children and their teachers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3--In this child-friendly collection of short, bouncy poems, Katz pulls together more than 50 previously published selections by a broad spectrum of authors. She sets the tone with one of her own: "With a poem in your pocket/and/a pocket in your pants/you can rock with new rhythms./You can skip./You can dance./And wherever you go,/and whatever you do,/that poem in your pocket is going there, too." Familiar Mother Goose rhymes and anonymous tidbits such as "The Burp" ("Pardon me for being rude./It was not me, it was my food") are included, along with traditional entries, such as Emily Dickinson's "Autumn," Lewis Carroll's "Twinkle, Twinkle," and an excerpt from William Blake's "Night." However, the greatest representation comes from contemporary, well-loved children's wordsmiths, including Eve Merriam, Jack Prelutsky, Carol Diggory Shields, Aileen Fisher, and Lucille Clifton. The verses range from humorous (William Cole's "Banananananananana") to introspective (Gwendolyn Brooks's "A Stranger to Himself"). Hafner's whimsical watercolor-and-pen illustrations skillfully decorate the pages, visually enhancing the experience of each composition. In a closing note, Katz expresses her hope that these poems "…will find short-term homes in the pockets of many children and long-term homes in their memories." This superbly designed volume should find a home on most library shelves.--Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. More than 50 short poems to read aloud and remember, arranged in settings from daybreak to nighttime, are accompanied by warm, clear line-and-watercolor pictures that extend the playful action. There are lots of nonsense and silliness, including Lewis Carroll's "Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!" and William Cole's "Banananananana" ("I started to spell 'banana' / And I didn't know when to stop"), and puns are everywhere. In a final note to parents and teachers, poet Katz shares her enthusiasm about the joy of memorizing ("We own them forever"). Not all the selections have the sort of sing-song rhythm that is easy to remember. Often it is the metaphor and the story that will stay with young listeners, whether it is Colin McNaughton's horror take on how the old woman in the shoe dealt with all those children, or Valerie Worth's lunchbox battle between a sandwich and an apple. Hafner's diagonal picture of preschoolers and adults on a crowded escalator captures the joyful diversity of the collection. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525471723
• ISBN-13: 978-0525471721
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have for your classroom!, July 6, 2004

By 

Education Oasis "Education Oasis" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pocket Poems (Hardcover)

Years ago I kept in my classroom a well-thumbed, much-loved poetry book titled Upside Down and Inside Out: Poems for All Your Pockets by Bobbi Katz. Year after year my students read and re-read the book. We created our own "pocket poems," performing them during "author hour" and displaying them around the room. I was delighted to see, therefore, this new anthology Pocket Poems come across my desk.

Selected by Bobbi Katz, these "pocket-sized" poems are perfect for introducing children to the world of poetry. Katz has done a superb job: The selections are a delightful mixture of silly and serious, fun and fantastical, thoughtful and nonsensical.

Herein you will find the evocative poem "Autumn" by Emily Dickinson as well as a humorous rhyme about toothpaste on the loose. Too, readers will find "Twinkle, Twinkle" by Lewis Carroll as well as a funny four-liner, "Raising Frogs for Profit" by an anonymous rhymer.

There are fifty-three poems all together, many of them containing eight lines or less. The illustrations, some spot art and some full-page, are done in pen-and-ink and watercolor. Full of details, they extend and enrich the poems by capturing perfectly the imagery of the text.

In the introductory poem to the book, Katz declares:

. . . You can misplace your homework.
You can lose your left shoe.
But that poem in your pocket will be a part of you.
And nothing can take it.
And nothing can break it.
That poem in your pocket
becomes
part of . . .
YOU!

In this age of wars and terrorist threats and uncertainty, being able to hold an inspiring or witty or wise or wonderful verse in one's heart can be a comforting thing indeed.

Pocket Poems receives our highest recommendation: Suitable for district-wide purchase.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff.