A few weeks ago I was gifted a copy of Dave Crawley’s Reading, Rhyming, and ‘Rithmetic, a book of twenty school-related poems. It sat next to my computer for less than 24 hours before Kenny, who regularly scans my desk for new arrivals, confiscated it one evening for his late night, lamplight reading fodder.
The next morning he gave an impromptu verbal review while handing it back to me. “Those poems are pretty cool and I don’t even like poetry.”
I rolled my eyes because we go ’round and ’round in this household about the importance of reading and writing poetry.
“What specifically did you like about it?”
At that, he began rolling his eyes AT ME because *der* – IT IS SUMMER ALREADY, MOM!
I kept looking at him, waiting patiently for an answer; so, he acquiesced to my silent request and said, “It’s kind of like things that kids encounter in real life, but not exactly, because it’s really exaggerated. Basically, it makes you laugh when you read it.”
I smiled because Kenny says “basically” more than any other word in the human vocabulary these days. Before Christmas, the word was “realistically.” The boy loves his adverbs.
Of course, with his review tucked in my brain I had to sit down and read the poems for myself, and I found myself chuckling my way through them much like I did with my last review of a kids’ poetry book.
The same boy, Billy, appears in the majority of the poem’s illustrations, and the poems are written from his perspective. I’d guess that Billy is probably about 5th grade, and he deals with all of the angst of most preteens. Forced writing assignments, young love and stolen kisses on the playground, the cafeteria’s “mystery meat,” as well as other problems like procrastinating homework, dealing with substitute teachers and realizing the teacher doesn’t live in the school.
The poems make you laugh.
Some may make you wince.
And all of them will make you REMEMBER.
Oh, and your kids will love them too because they are humorous and completely relatable.
Liz Callen, the illustrator, is incredibly talented, with a delightfully amusing portfolio that ranges from “Beasties” to “Mere Mortals.” In this book, I particularly liked the illustration of Vanessa, the gal who gobbles up paste.
Kenny asked me if I ever ate paste, and I admitted to trying it but not liking it.
Much to the chagrin of my teachers, I poured paste all over my hands, letting it dry so I could peel it off like snakeskin. Needless to say, my mother had to replace my Elmer’s frequently. I imagine she justified the regular replenishment as an expense of my extreme creativity; I would argue creativity is subjective.
Dave Crawley is the self-proclaimed “Pet Laureate” for AnimalHero and AnimalHero Kids, an organization he and his wife, Laurel Herman, established in 2005. Along with Reading, Rhyming, and ‘Rithmetic, he has published multiple children’s poetry books, including Cat Poems, Dog Poems, and Crawley Bugs, all with the purpose of “encouraging kids to be kind stewards to animals while promoting the joy of reading and writing.”
Crawley’s poems have been featured in thirteen national children’s magazines, including “Ranger Rick,” “Cricket,” and “Jack and Jill.” Crawley is also an award-winning TV reporter for KDKA-TV (CBS) and WQED-TV (PBS) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
And now, it’s time to share your favorite children’s poetry books, or if you’d rather, your favorite childhood poems.
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families to live, love and learn. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods where she currently home schools two of her three kids.