My Words on Children's Literature

Genre 3 POETRY

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY. Ill. by Kyle M. Stone. Orlando, FL: Gulliver Books. ISBN 0152163875

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Please Bury Me In The Library is a collection of 16 whimsical poems about books. Books with different names such as Furious George or Babar the Beaver is the subject explored in the first poem. Other topics of poems include burial in the library, reading at the beach, reading in the dark, and big words. These poems are connected because they all relate to words and books in some way.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The poems are lively and fun using a reading related haiku, a library acrostic, a limerick and even literary criticism. Lines such as "A great book is a homing device / For navigating paradise" to "A bad book owes to many trees / A forest of apologies" pose opportunities for discussion to insure understanding. This collection of poems provide examples of different kinds of poetry. Some use rhyme while other are free verse. The imagery of some of the poems is well-illustrated on the following page. "Necessary Garden" will be a favorite when children see the garden with blooming books. Children of all ages will enjoy reading these rhymes again and again as they look at Kyle Stone’s broad-stroked acrylics. The clever words coupled with the creative illustrations offer a rewarding read.

4. REVIEW EXERPTS

Children’s Literature: “The lively rhymes are exuberantly matched by Kyle Stone’s acrylics, which create their own strange world of lambs eating green eggs, butterflies nagging in aprons and a pigtailed girl riding a paper airplane into the mysterious night.”

Kirkus: “In 16 poems, all but two appearing here for the first time, the Midwest's cleverest living comic poet enjoins readers, "Please bury me in the library / With a dozen long-stemmed proses”. . . this offering from the prolific Lewis won't stay buried long, no matter where it's planted.”

5. CONNECTIONS

*This book might go well with an introduction to the school library at the beginning of the year.

*Read the poem “What if books had different names?” and then let students suggest different names to their favorites.

Other related books:

Huff, Barbara A. ONCE INSIDE THE LIBRARY. ASIN B000HM1Y5G

Davis, David. LIBRARIAN’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. ISBN 1589803361

Terry, Sonya. “L” IS FOR LIBRARY. ISBN 193214644X

// posted by catalogblog @ 1:33 PM