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.

This is a poem from a young boy to his dad. The boy is sad because he has broken his promises to his daddy and is concerned that he can’t be his daddy’s little boy anymore.

Promises

Dear Daddy,
I’m sorry I did not do what you told me to do.
If I do better
Can I still be your little boy?

Dear Son,
You will be
My little boy
For all of your little-boy days.
And when
You are no longer a little boy
I will still be your daddy.

From: IN DADDY’S ARMS I AM TALL African Americans Celebrating Fathers. By David A. Anderson. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe. Published by Lee & Low Books, New York. Copyright 1997.

After reading aloud a couple of times, have 2 volunteers read in the voices of a little boy and his dad. Discuss. As a group, compose a poem from the mom’s perspective to both the boy and his dad. For those who want, let them explore and create a personal or partner poem.

Rainbow Soup
Adventures in Poetry

by Brian P. Cleary, Ill. by Neal Layton

What an ingenious book! RAINBOW SOUP, aimed at 3rd -6th graders, is jammed full of funny rhymes, great word choices and entertaining illustrations. Author Brian Cleary is not only a gifted poet, but he is an amazing teacher, as well. Although it is obviously a book of poetry, it is also a book about poetry. Filled with funny poems in the style of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, Cleary has an explanation at the end of many of his poems informing the reader the type of poem that has just been read and a simple, yet thorough explanation of the form. There is a little bit of everything from couplets and haiku to examples of lesser known types such as villanelle and lantern. Cleary also – without the reader realizing he/she is learning – teaches about iambic pentameter, palindromes, parody and e.e. cummings, etc.

Cleary opens this delightful little collection with “Welcome”: Come romp with me amongst the words./Come play amongst the phrases./Swing and climb from pun to rhyme/And hop through versey mazes./Swim from head to toe-etry. Come beat your drums and shake your bums/And dance the dance of poetry. Included are poems that play not only with words or spoken language but also with the eyes and mind. For example, in an example using symbols and texting as part of the poetry, the reader is treated to “2 LN”:
2 LN, dear sweet LN,
B4 U, now I stand.
2 me U R a QTpie.
Y don’t U take my hand?

The NV of the others
U N I would always B.
I M D perfect 1 4 U-
Just U 8 N C!

Layton’s simple black line drawings with monochromatic coloring applied to the speckled paper add to the sense of whimsy and fun. With “A pinch of puns, a dash of concrete poems, and a dollop of haiku” (front flap), RAINBOW SOUP has all the right ingredients for a delicious serving of poetry for any reader.

Cleary, Brian P. 2004. RAINBOW SOUP ADVENTURES IN POETRY. Ill. Neal Layton. Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books.