GENRE 3: POETRY (BOOK # 1)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This book is an anthology of poems celebrating libraries, reading, and books themselves. It is a mixture of the poetic works of the author, J. Patrick Lewis, and classic poets.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The poems in this collection are a tribute to the joy and wonder of books. These poems will most likely be new to children. The presence of an adult to guide them through the verses is needed, especially for the very young child. Many poems are filled with humor such as the poem titled "Summer Reading at the Beach" which reads: "some folks read beside the ocean, some folks read along the coast, some folks rub on suntan lotion, some folks who forgot are TOAST!" Other poems are warm and sentimental such as "Great, Good, Bad" which reads: "a good book somehow makes you care about the comfort of a chair."

This book is beautifully illustrated using rich bold colors of paint. From the mice in the book (literally) on the cover, to the little girl sailing through the night sky in a giant paper airplane, the pictures are a magical mix of reality and fantasy.

This magical mix of the real and the pretend extends to books themselves. Some are realistic and teach us about the world. Some are imaginary and take us to a make-believe world found only in their pages and in our minds. This blend of the actual and fantasy worlds could easily be called a theme of this book of poetry, along with the celebration of reading and of books themselves.

Located in the front of the book is a table of contents, listing the titles and page numbers for the fifteen poems. On the very last page of the book a page titled "Acknowledgements." On this page J. Patrick Lewis gives credit and thanks to other poets whose poems are in this anthology, such as Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist: "Lewis' poetry is continually clever, whether pithily summing up children's classics (a book that is excitedly read by a kid of 6 to another kid of 63) or capturing the thrill of reading in the dark."

Children's Literature: "From the deliciously polite title through the ab-so-lu-tas-ti-cal final acknowledgement the author tickles the funny bone as he plays with words and ideas designed to delight and intrigue the discerning reader."

Horn Book: "Fifteen poems in many forms extol the wonders of reading, books, and words. Not all of the poems read smoothly or easily, but many of them display wit and humor."

5. CONNECTIONS

This book of poems is a wonderful way to introduce children to the subject of poetry.

*Other books by J. Patrick Lewis:

Chess, Victoria. A HIPPOPOTAMUSN'T AND OTHER ANIMAL VERSES. ISBN 0803705190

Paparone, Pamela. TWO-LEGGED, FOUR LEGGED, NO-LEGGED RHYMES. ISBN 067980771

*Another book by Kyle M. Stone:

I LOVE MY PIRATE PAPA. by Laura Leuck. ISBN 0152056645

*Other collections of children's poetry:

Lobel, Arnold. THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN. selected and introduced by Jack Prelutsky. ISBN 0038710285

Truesdell, Sue. AND THE GREEN GRASS GREW ALL AROUND: FOLK POETRY FROM EVERYONE. by Alvin Schwartz. ISBN 0060227583