Dirty Laundry Pile:

Poems in Different Voices

Selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee Dirty Laundry Pile:Poems in Different Voices, a collection of mask, or persona, poems will make 3rd - 6th grade readers (actually,of any age) giggle and think as they read these imaginative selections. Written in the voices of everyday items such as a washing machine, snowflakes and kites, Paul Janeczko has done a great job of selecting poems that make the reader "think outside the box". Have you ever wondered what the innermost thoughts of a vacuum cleaner might be? Apparently they are not the mild-mannered helpful appliances we thought. They seek revenge for having to perform their duties: I gulp another/pizza crust. A tiresome life --/All work, no play --/ I think I'll swallow you today!

Melissa Sweet's watercolor illustrations, whether thumb-nails or a full two-page spread, will delight the reader but not overwhelm the poems they depict. Janeczko has done a terrific job of selecting poems/poets to include in his anthology. Readers will enjoy the different perspective from various things as well as learning to think of them in different ways. Dirty Laundry Pile is a fun, engaging addition to any collection.

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE:POEMS IN DIFFERENT VOICES. Ill Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.