Read! Read! Read!

by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Ryan O'Rourke (Illustrator)

Overview

Twenty-three poems capture the joys of reading.

From that thrilling moment when a child first learns to decipher words, to the excitement that follows in reading everything from road signs to field guides to internet articles to stories, these poems celebrate reading. They also explore what reading does -- how it opens minds, can make you kind, and allows you to explore the whole world. Ryan O’Rourke’s rich artwork beautifully captures the imagination and playfulness in these poems by noted author Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590789759
Publisher:	Highlights
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	446,036
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is the author of many children’s books, including Forest Has A Song, Every Day Birds, Read! Read! Read!, Dreaming Of You, and With My Hands: Poems About Making Things, as well as the professional book Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres. A former fifth grade teacher, Amy has taught writing for twenty years and blogs for students and teachers at The Poem Farm and Sharing Our Notebooks. Visit amyludwigvanderwater.com.  

Ryan O’Rourke is the author-illustrator of Bella: Lost And Found (HarperCollins, 2014) and illustrator of Mouseling’s Words by Shutta Crum (Clarion, 2016), Alphabet Trains by Samantha R. Vamos (Charlesbridge, 2017), and more. He teaches illustration at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire. ryanorourke.com

Editorial Reviews

"VanDerwater and O'Rourke have created a compendium of poetry that focuses on the sheer joy of reading. Twenty-three selections of varying rhyme schemes convey a world rich with emotions and experiences. Each verse is connected to relatable reading milestones, such as laughing over the Sunday comics or staying up late to read under the covers. Conversational in style, these poems provide illustrative cues that invite children to explore imagery... (f)antastical at times, O'Rourke's vivid artwork blends seamlessly with VanDerwater's text, fluctuating between bright and dark colors to suggest tone. A pleasing addition for poetry collections serving young children."  -School Library Journal

"Learning to read, wanting to read, daring to read—nearly every state of mastering the word is explored in VanDerwater's collection of 23 poems. Bookless? No worries. Cereal boxes, road signs, or even wildly decorated notebook paper can fill the bill for the greedy page gobbler. But if you happen to have a book...ahhhh, the sublime delight of reading under the covers way past dark (just like mom did) is unsurpassed. 'She taught me how / a story leaps / like magic / from each page. / I'm sure my mom / read past her bedtime / under blankets / at my age."' -Kirkus Reviews

"Lifelong readers can relate to similar milestones: that incredible surge of excitement when letters suddenly begin to make sense...This collection of poems celebrates these experiences...Topics will resonate with school-age audiences...and the satisfying meter and rhyme schemes...make sharing enjoyable for adults. (The) illustrations...align perfectly with each selection's tone, helping young readers interpret imagery and appreciate nuances...April may be Poetry Month, but this collection is worth sharing at any time." - Booklist

From the Publisher

06/01/2017
K-Gr 3—VanDerwater and O'Rourke have created a compendium of poetry that focuses on the sheer joy of reading. Twenty-three selections of varying rhyme schemes convey a world rich with emotions and experiences. Each verse is connected to relatable reading milestones, such as laughing over the Sunday comics or staying up late to read under the covers. Conversational in style, these poems provide illustrative cues that invite children to explore imagery. In "Maps," a boy holds "a whole city crinkling" in his hands while skyscrapers burst from the top of his map. Fantastical at times, O'Rourke's vivid artwork blends seamlessly with VanDerwater's text, fluctuating between bright and dark colors to suggest tone. Swaths of dark purples and blues highlight the somber nature of "Stories," where a father holds his daughter close to him on her bed. Readers learn how Charlotte's Web prepared the child for her grandma's death the next year, and small details such as a plush pig and a spider in her cobwebbed corner provide context. VanDerwater and O'Rourke also play with gender expectations; for example, in "Sports Page" it's a young girl in a football helmet and jersey who eagerly scans for the sports scores instead of the brother sitting next to her. Like most volumes of poetry for this age group, this is best suited for sharing aloud, but strong readers will enjoy perusing the book on their own. VERDICT A pleasing addition for poetry collections serving young children.—Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

2017-06-05
Learning to read, wanting to read, daring to read—nearly every state of mastering the word is explored in VanDerwater's collection of 23 poems. Bookless? No worries. Cereal boxes, road signs, or even wildly decorated notebook paper can fill the bill for the greedy page gobbler. But if you happen to have a book…ahhhh, the sublime delight of reading under the covers way past dark (just like mom did) is unsurpassed. "She taught me how / a story leaps / like magic / from each page. / I'm sure my mom / read past her bedtime / under blankets / at my age." However, in this inconsistent collection, the meter alternately flows, leaps, limps, and stutters. An achingly sweet poem about a child mourning her grandma while holding fast to the lessons learned in Charlotte's Web is two back flips away from a pedestrian ode to hawks. "I am nestled on my couch / field guide perched upon my lap. / I am learning names of hawks / that own the never-ending sky." O'Rourke's illustrations are also uneven in quality. The oddly flat expression in "I Explore" vies with both the poignant father/daughter tableau in "Stories" and the comically imperious countenance of rodent Cleopatra in "Googling Guinea Pigs." Overall, these poems lack the organic integrity and easy lyric harmony found in VanDerwater's earlier books: Forest Has a Song, illustrated by Robbin Gourley (2013), and Every Day Birds, illustrated by Dylan Metrano (2016). Readers willing to pick and choose will find some gems, but there are a few rocks as well. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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