Poetry 5603

BOOK REVIEW
PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY
1. BIBLIOGROPHY
J. Patrick Lewis Illustrated By: Kyle M. Stone Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2005
ISBN-13: 9780152163877

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This book of poetry is a collection around the theme of books and varies in reading difficulty; some of these poems are sure to be a hit because of its playful language such as in the "Three Haiku," Epitaph/ for a Devoted Lifelong Reader—Thank you for the plot. This book will help enrich children and adults vocabulary. This can be done at school or at home in a cozy spot with loved ones.
The titles of these poems range from appealing to younger or upper elementary school children such as, “What if Books Had Different Names”, for middle school age “The Big-Word Girl”, and for older audiences, “A classic”, and the reader’s favorite , “Please Bury Me in the Library”. This is a book of poems that can be taken anywhere to amuse oneself and others at any moment.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Kyle M. Stone the illustrator, uses acrylic paintings and mixed media illustrations to complement the illustrations to the text. Just as the reader’s favorite poem “Please Bury Me in the Library”. It shows the beautiful shiny acrylic painting of bookshelves in earth tones and books out of place to show that they have been read. Another one of the poems the reader enjoyed is "What if Books Had Different Names," sits next to a painting of a lobster-bibbed lamb waiting to tuck into a plate of green eggs and spam. This will sure make a connection to Dr. Seuss book, GREEN EGGS AND HAM. This poem makes reference to many titles in playful funny language that the listener or reader is sure to make connections with other books or poems.



4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
“Like Lewis's previous witty verse, the poems brim with wordplay, but they sometimes seem to be aimed at adults”~ Publisher’s Weekly
“The lively rhymes are exuberantly matched by Kyle Stone's acrylics, which create their own strange world of lambs eating green eggs, butterflies nagging in aprons and a pigtailed girl riding a paper airplane into the mysterious night.” ~ Children’s Literature

5. CONNECTIONS
This great book can be used with older students. It could also be used along with a study of the importance of literary references.