Keep a Pocket in Your Poem: Classic Poems and Playful Parodies

Gr 3–6—Poetry is personal to both writer and reader, and here a former children's poet laureate selects a baker's dozen of classical poems and proffers the parodies that flew into his mind as he "tinkered" with their tempos. So while Robert Frost's little horse "shakes his bells" stopping by a wood, Lewis finds a "Fridge on a Hungry Evening" and does more. And while Rose Fyleman thinks "mice are really nice," Lewis is sure that "rats are really brats." Poem and parody face each other, nestled in colorful illustrations that often spill across both pages. Carl Sandburg's fog ("on little cat feet") leaves paw prints, while Lewis's hail stomps "furious hooves." A chatty introduction explains Lewis's intent and encourages young writers to try their hand at some spoofing of their own. This is simpler than his previous collection Edgar Allan Poe's Pie: Math Puzzles in Classic Poems and perhaps takes on a more popular subject.