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UNDERNEATH MY BED

Name: UNDERNEATH MY BED
Author: Brian P. Cleary
ISBN: 978-1-4677-9343-8

LIST POEMS

From the Poetry Adventures series

by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Richard Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2016

Whether capturing fun or chronicling items that disgust, Cleary and Watson again brilliantly open the world of verse,...

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The sixth installment in the growing list of Poetry Adventures focuses on just that: lists.

Here Cleary and Watson present illustrated rhymed and unrhymed poems cataloging zany subjects ranging from wished-for delights to unsavory remnants moldering away in the school microwave or under one’s bed. Though one might expect the 16 poems collected here just to center on objects, like things that are “Yellow” or left “At the Lost and Found,” Cleary also provides inventories of what happens, for example, in April, at the bus stop, in the classroom, or at camp, inspiring children to observe not only things, but actions they encounter. He cleverly points to the irony of the “glove compartment” that contains nearly every household item except gloves and, in an especially hilarious poem, suggests that dinosaurs went extinct out of boredom and deprivation, due to their having “no skateboards, / … / no ice cream, / no smartphones, / no bicycles, / no french fries, / no amusement parks, / and / no Oreos.” Throughout, Cleary’s creative lists are animated by Watson’s light, vividly colored, and warmly drawn illustrations, spotlighting deliciously gory details like bug bites and scratches earned at camp or slimy, lime-green “snot” covering everything an allergy-plagued boy touches.

Whether capturing fun or chronicling items that disgust, Cleary and Watson again brilliantly open the world of verse, enticing young readers to dive in. (further reading) (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4677-9343-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner

Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
EATING MY WORDS
by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Brian P. Cleary

- BOOK REVIEW
CRUNCH AND CRACK, OINK AND WHACK!
by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Pablo Pino

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN PLAYED HIDE-AND-SEEK
by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrated by Carol Crimmins

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ZILOT & OTHER IMPORTANT RHYMES

by Bob Odenkirk ; illustrated by Erin Odenkirk ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2023

A lackluster collection of verse enlivened by a few bright spots.

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Poems on various topics by the actor/screenwriter and his kids.

In collaboration with his now-grown children—particularly daughter Erin, who adds gently humorous vignettes and spot art to each entry—Bob Odenkirk, best known for his roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, dishes up a poetic hodgepodge that is notably loose jointed in the meter and rhyme departments. The story also too often veers from child-friendly subjects (bedtime-delaying tactics, sympathy for a dog with the zoomies) to writerly whines (“The be-all and end-all of perfection in scribbling, / no matter and no mind to any critical quibbling”). Some of the less-than-compelling lines describe how a “plane ride is an irony / with a strange and wondrous duplicity.” A few gems are buried in the bunch, however, like the comforting words offered to a bedroom monster and a frightened invisible friend, not to mention an invitation from little Willy Whimble, who lives in a tuna can but has a heart as “big as can be. / Come inside, / stay for dinner. / I’ll roast us a pea!” They’re hard to find, though. Notwithstanding nods to Calef Brown, Shel Silverstein, and other gifted wordsmiths in the acknowledgments, the wordplay in general is as artificial as much of the writing: “I scratched, then I scrutched / and skrappled away, / scritching my itch with great / pan-a-ché…” Human figures are light-skinned throughout.

A lackluster collection of verse enlivened by a few bright spots. (Poetry. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023

ISBN: 9780316438506

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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WHAT YOU NEED TO BE WARM

by Neil Gaiman ; illustrated by Various ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2023

No substitute for blankets or shelter, but perhaps a way of securing some warmth for those in need.

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Gaiman’s free-verse meditation on coming in from, or at least temporarily fending off, the cold is accompanied by artwork from 13 illustrators.

An ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the author put out a social media appeal in 2019 asking people about their memories of warmth; the result is this picture book, whose proceeds will go to the UNHCR. For many refugees and other displaced persons, Gaiman writes, “food and friends, / home, a bed, even a blanket, / become just memories.” Here he gathers images that signify warmth, from waking in a bed “burrowed beneath blankets / and comforters” to simply holding a baked potato or being offered a scarf. Using palettes limited to black and the warm orange in which most of the text is printed, an international slate of illustrators give these images visual form, and 12 of the 13 add comments about their intentions or responses. The war in Ukraine is on the minds of Pam Smy and Bagram Ibatoulline, while Majid Adin recalls his time as a refugee in France’s “Calais jungle” camp. “You have the right to be here,” the poet concludes, which may give some comfort to those facing the cold winds of public opinion in too many of the places where refugees fetch up. The characters depicted are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

No substitute for blankets or shelter, but perhaps a way of securing some warmth for those in need. (Picture book. 6-9)