Joshua Seigal (text), Chris Piascik (illus.), I Don’t Like Poetry, Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin, Nov 2016, 88pp., $12.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781472930033
This is an accessible paperback with a fun approach to beginning with poetry.
Fifty short poems by Seigal offer examples to spark children’s own writing. Word play, humour and themes around everyday objects offer lots for young readers to connect with.
With titles such as A Zombie Poem, Dracula’s Love Letter and Edible Bedroom, these poems are light-hearted, and don’t take themselves too seriously. Yet underlying the fun is the poet’s expert craftsmanship, employing rhythm, rhyme and a range of poetic techniques that offer good examples for teachers to share.
Designed as an antidote to the title phrase, I suspect that many teachers will grab this book whenever poetry writing is on the agenda in the primary classroom.
Reviewed by Julie Thorndyke
