Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape

J. Patrick Lewis

ISBN 10: 143955210X ISBN 13: 9781439552100

Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-09-18, 2008

Synopsis

A collection of poems each of which appears on the page in the shape of its subject so that the poem looks like whatever it's about.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

From endpaper to doodled endpaper, this mix of clever language and visual delights makes a dandy treat for all ages. Desimini's (Love Letters) mixed-media illustrations and Lewis's (A Hippopotamusn't) inventive poems converge in a single work stronger than either would be independent of the other. The interplay between words and pictures effectively conjures images from seasons to sports to the jungle. In "Lashondra Scores!" each line of the poem includes a word with the letter "O," which Desimini transforms into a basketball, creating an arc of text that follows the ball from Lashondra's hand to its eventual swish through the hoop. In another, the trunk of a weeping willow tree tells of a widow weeping, while its branches trail gracefully down, each containing the refrain, "Her wind-woven hair softly sweeping." The shape of a yellow-brown giraffe takes form against a background of forest green leaves in a concrete poem, "Giraffe": the words tail and stilts literally form the animal's corresponding anatomy as he "turns tail and hobbles away on wooden stilts." This lively and outstanding collection, reflecting a wide emotional range, will intrigue young artists and wordsmiths with its surprising use of color and unexpected wordplay. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6?Lewis, who has long been a master of a variety of poetic forms, has created an inventive collection of concrete poems. In each selection, the essence of the subject is captured in the typeface used for the words, the shape in which the lines are arranged, and through Desimini's brilliant mixed-media collages. Lines about a skyscraper take the form of that structure ("I /am/ a/ nee/dle /of/steel/glass &/cement...") and are set against a background of a clouded sky, small silhouettes of pedestrians, and rows of taxis. In "Big Cat," the words "day delights/in jungle cries/night ignites/its tiger eyes" wrap around the eyes of a tiger that stare dramatically at readers from a double-page spread. Every page of this book is well designed, creating words and images that work together in harmony. From the lavender endpapers that feature a mix of childlike drawings and letters in different typefaces, and the magic-marker doodles surrounding the various shapes on the CIP page, to the final page, each spread is fresh and inviting. Doodle Dandies captures the joy that wordplay can bring. It deserves a place on every library shelf.?Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-09-18
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 143955210X
• ISBN 13: 9781439552100
• Binding: Library Binding
• Illustrator: Lisa Desimini