Presidential Misadventures: Poems That Poke Fun at the Man in Charge - Hardcover

Raczka, Bob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596439807 ISBN 13: 9781596439801

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2015

Synopsis

A spoonful of poetry helps the mockery go down! This collection of presidential poems is historical and hysterical.

The clerihew is a simple poetic form specifically invented to make fun of famous people―and who is more famous than the misbehaving presidents of the United States? Here are forty-three poems teasing the commander-in-chief that are fun to read aloud and even more fun to write yourself. From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes a new collection filled with zingers, humdingers, and Presidential Misadventures.

About this title

About the Authors

Bob lives with his wife, Amy, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. They have three children (Robert, Carl and Emma) and a dog (Rufus). They are all Cub fans.

As a boy Bob loved to draw, especially dinosaurs, cars and airplanes. He also spent a lot of time making paper airplanes and model rockets. One time, he even made a flute out of a stick he found and it actually played music.

Bob studied art in college, which came in quite handy while he was writing his series of art appreciation books, Bob Raczka’s Art Adventures. He also studied advertising, a creative field he has worked in for 30 years.

A few years ago, Bob discovered how much he enjoyed poetry. It wasn't long before he started writing his own. He has always loved playing with words.
If Bob could share just one message with today's kids, it would be, “Make stuff!” Draw imaginary creatures. Build forts. Write comic books. Make up games. Invent a new baseball pitch. Design your own Halloween costume. Try your own recipe.

Dare to be creative.

Dan E. Burr is an illustrator and cartoonist who has won several Eisner and Harvey Awards. He created the artwork for Kings in Disguise and On the Ropes, both written by James Vance. He is also the illustrator of Presidential Misadventures: Poems That Poke Fun at the Man in Charge.

Reviews

Gr 3–6—This petite treat cracks open history via a little light mockery in the form of 43 clerihews, one for each president of the United States. The book opens with an explanation of the form's origin and structure (the clerihew is a four-line poem with an AABB rhyming scheme that pokes fun at its famous subject, who is introduced in the first line). Readers will be engaged by the jokes and impelled to flip to the appendix to learn more. An irreverent tone runs through these selections. One poem describes Thomas Jefferson, who "went to town to buy bananas/and came home with Louisiana," while the accompanying illustration depicts him carrying a large outline of the state with a $15,000,000 price tag. The book includes other important bits of history such as the Monroe Doctrine and the purchase of Alaska. The research is sound, with reference sources cited, and cartoonist Burr's large-headed, pen-and-ink caricatures are humorous. Some of the textual and visual references will be lost on kids (such as the drawing of Richard Nixon being cued by the cameraman to read a script card that says, "I am not a crook."). However, the book will spark the inquisitive seeker in every reader and is a quick launch into research. VERDICT A fun and informative addition to poetry collections.—Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA

Edition details

• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1596439807
• ISBN 13: 9781596439801
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Burr Dan E.
• Number of pages: 48