Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices

Fine for education for youngsters, I guess. Use to teach points of view, to help children become more empathetic citizens. Use to teach poetry, as in, maybe Lee wants to write from the perspective of a lawnmower, Robin from the perspective of a stove, Kamala from the perspective of an albatross.

But the illustrations spoiled it for me. Some pretty good poems were told by the illustrator, and made to mean something that my imagination would not have chosen. The pictures were distracting, and demeaning.

(I do wonder why I've never had that complaint before when reading children's anthologies, though.)

This is a wonderful collection of poems that kids will immediately fall in love with. Poems are written from the perspective of different animals and objects, and also vary in structure so that its audience will get to experience all different types and levels of poetry. Illustrations are colorful and fun, and the writing is unique. Each poem is relatively short as well, so reading feels easy and organized.

Dirty Laundry Pile : Poems in Different Voices is a collection of poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko. Janeczko explains in her introduction that she collected these poems because she loves reading poems written in the voice of an object or an animal. The collection consists of poems in the voice of a vacuum, a crayon, and a cat to name a few. The poems are intended for amusement but could be used to illustrate perspective. After reciting the poems, students may enjoy writing their own poems from the point of view of a an everyday object. The poems sound natural and do not feel contrived. The poems are imaginative and the illustrations add to the imaginative nature of the poems. In a few of the poems the placement of the words contribute show more to the overall meaning of the poem. The poems do not patronize childhood by talking down to it and they are not didactic or preachy. Students in grades 1-5 are sure to enjoy this amusing collection. show less

Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist, Apr. 15, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 16))
”As Janeczko explains in his introduction, this collection of 27 poems is "something like wearing a Halloween costume or playing a part in a school play," because the poems have all been written in the voice of an object or an animal--a seashell, a cat, a tree. The imaginative language is simple yet rich in image and metaphor. Madeleine Comora's "Roots" speaks volumes: "Roots like ours, course and strong / as a grandmother's fingers." Sometimes the poetry sparkles, sweeps us along, or makes us laugh, as in the title poem about dirty clothes by Marcy Barack Black: "Ignore me now / on the floor / By the door. / But you'll notice / when I swell / By my smell." There's great show more variety in poetic mood and form--brisk couplets, thoughtful haiku, funny concrete poems. In Peggy B. Levitt's "Mosquito's Song" the word puncture is spelled out vertically, letter by letter, ending, appropriately, in an exclamation point. Melissa Sweet's watercolors are light and airy, but never too slight. Some are full-page, some thumbnail size; and all are hugely appealing, whether dancing comically across the page or bordering the text. They'll draw children into words that resonate with joy and, sometimes, deeper meaning, words that will remind them that there's more than one way to experience the world.” (from CLCD)
Distinctions:
 Children’s Books of Distinction, 2002
 Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2002 show less

The poems are written by different authors. The person listed on the cover is the one that selected the poems along with the illustrator’s name. The different authors of these poems decided to write in the voice of the objects or animals they wanted to talk about. This provides an interesting perspective, because in allows the reader to take the role of these objects or animals.

The introduction in this book was very nice. It demonstrates a great topic for a journal or poetry activity. Having students write a poem from the point of view of something else would allow them to use their imagination. This book has so many different poems written from the point of view of something that can't speak for themselves, but I would prefer my students to choose something that wasn’t already mentioned in the book.

This book contains many cute poems that are illustrated well with drawings within the page. I think that a child might find them interesting. They could be read when the students are learning about poetry.