Poetry Friday is hosted today by A year of Reading.
My selection is "Mirror mirror : a book of reversible verse" written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josee Masse.
I'm always on the lookout for another creative way for teachers and children to explore poetry and word play and Singer's invention of "reversos" (poetry which has one meaning when read in one direction and another interpretation when read in a different direction), was just the ticket. Singer's poetry provides a new look at fairy tales as she plays with plot and characters from Cinderella, Goldilocks, The Ugly Duckling and other favorites.
I could immediately see the classroom potential for discovering how reordering language changes meaning. Singer invites students to create their own poetry styled like these word puzzles by employing strategies similar to her own. Author notes are included to explain her process.
Masse employs bold color and clever visual tricks to mirror and enhance the content and structure of the text.
1 comment:
Oh this is so nice. For some reason I am reminded of Jeannie Baker's MIRROR where two wordless narratives about a boy living in Sydney on the one hand and a boy in Morocco in the other are simultaneously presented to the reader.
It's ingenious to see how this could also be done with Poetry. Will check this book out.
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