Bookspeak!: Poems about Books


Bibliography: Salas, Laura Purdie & Bissaillon, Josee. 2011. Bookspeak!: Poems about Books. NewYork: Clarion. ISBN 9780547223001



Plot Summary:   Bookspeak is a collection of twenty-one poems about books. The focus of the poems are parts of books, character and types of book. Many of the poems are written in rhyme. Some are lyrical for example “Skywriting", which compares the writing on a page to "inky black birds/forming the flocks that shift into words", some are funny, some are from the perspective of a book "Lights Out at the Bookstore" and "The Sky is Falling", and some from only a part of the book "Book Plate", "Index", "I've Got This Covered", or "Picture This".

Critical Analysis:



Laura Purdie Salas gives books a unique voice in Bookspeak. The book begins by calling all readers to drop everything they are doing and have an adventure with a book.

The sequence of the poems are done with a flow that the reader gets the feeling of reading a story. This might be because the poems are ordered by topics you would find in a book. The first few poems are informational and give the reader context. Then there are exciting poems like the climax of a story. Then other poems address details related to book like main idea. The last poem titles the “The End” is wonderfully written.


The illustration are collage-like. The illustrations add dimensions to the words almost telling you their own story. Illustrations are bright and bold in some cases and dull in others further enhancing the tone and expression used. The thoughtful compilation of poems, combined with the masterful illustrations, create a sound for the book that is very natural and easy to read.  This collection of poems is appropriate for a wide range of students. The book is filled with good humor and fascinating images that will keep readers engaged and interested in what they are reading.



Review excerpts

  •         Minnesota Book Award
  •         NCTE Notables
  •         Bank Street Best Books
  •         Librarians' Choice
  •         Eureka! Gold Medal
  •         Honor Book - Gelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression
  •         Nerdy Book Award

“With its mix of poetic forms and wry twists on language-arts terms, this is a natural choice for sharing in classrooms and young writers’ workshops” -BOOKLIST



Connections

Other books by Laura Purdie Salas:

Salas, Laura Purdie. A rock can be. (1467721107)

Salas, Laura Purdie. If you were the Moon. (146778009X)



·         Create a Readers Theater from the poem

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