Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions

by Janet S. Wong, Julie Paschkis (Illustrator)

Overview

What superstitions do you follow?
In this collection of original poems, accomplished poet Janet S. Wong explores seventeen superstitions, some common, others that are less known, and delves into their origins as well as their lore. Rich, full-color illustrations by Julie Paschkis enhance each poem.
The result from this award-winning team is sure to intrigue young readers and make them think again about things they often do, like opening an umbrella, walking under a ladder, or putting on a hat!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689855122
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	09/01/2003
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Janet S. Wong is the author of more than a dozen picture books and poetry collections. Her work includes Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions, both illustrated by Julie Paschkis, as well as Grump, a Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Book, illustrated by John Wallace. Janet lives with her family in Medina, Washington.

Julie Paschkis is a painter, textile designer, and award-winning illustrator and author of many books for children, including Vivid: Poems and Notes about Color; Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown, an Américas Award winner and an Orbis Pictus Honor book; Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams by Janet S. Wong, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella by Paul Fleischman; and Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary by Julie Larios, a Boston Globe–Horn Award Honor Book. She lives in Seattle with her husband. Visit her at JuliePaschkis.com.

Table of Contents

	Cat	1
	Clover	3
	Ears	5
	Garlic	7
	Hair	9
	Hat	11
	Horseshoe	13
	Key	15
	Ladder	17
	Ladybug	19
	Mirror	21
	Potatoes	23
	Rooster	25
	Salt	27
	Thirteen	29
	Umbrellas	31
	Wood	33
	About the Superstitions	34
	Author's Note	36

Editorial Reviews

So, does wearing one's hat backwards bring good luck or bad? What, if anything, do itchy ears, or a broken mirror, portend? In 17 short poems, alphabetically arranged, Wong ruminates lightheartedly on superstitions both common and less well-known, from that ominous black cat or the supposed effects of garlic-"All you bloodsuckers / this is your last chance: / I am one bite / away- / from a hunk / of Mother's famous garlic chunk chicken"-to the spirits that purportedly dwell in trees and umbrellas. Paschkis frames each poem, and a playful, stylized illustration opposite, with swirling monochrome borders made of mirror-image motifs; the effect is both eye-filling and a touch mystical. Wong gets into the spirit of things by slipping in a newly minted superstition-"Stand bareheaded in the rain / to cure a baldness of the brain"-then closing with a spread of tongue-in-cheek commentary and a personal source note. Poet and illustrator both capture just the right tone to keep young readers from taking the topic too seriously-knock on wood. (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews