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I Must Go Down to the Beach Again
Product Code: 91431 ISBN: 978-1-58089-143-1 Binding Information: Hardcover Ages: 8 - 11 Grade Highest: 6th Grade Lowest: 3rd Availability: In stock. Price: $14.95 Author Karen Jo Shapiro has taken 23 classic poems and given them a twist. Kid -friendly parodies of works by Blake, Shakespeare, Dickinson, Poe, and others will spark the imagination and tickle the funny bone of young and old alike.
Back matter includes a list of original poets, dates of publication, and author notes.  Congratulations fo the winners of the I Must Go Down to the Beach Again poetry contest! 1st Place: "Sweet Nightmares" by Rachel, grade 4 2nd Place: "Wilow Women" by Lucy, grade 6 3rd Place: "Boy" by Cécé , grade 5 Read your poems: Download an Honorable Mention Certificate. Listen to Karen Jo read from I Must Go Down to the Beach Again. Have fun with these activities: If you like this book, you'll like: Also Available As:
Binding Information: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-58089-144-8 Availability: In stock. Price: $5.95 Reviews Kirkus Reviews - December 18, 2006
Shapiro follows up Because I Could Not Stop My Bike, and Other Poems (2003), illustrated by Matt Faulkner, with 23 more ingenious takeoffs on works from Emily Dickinson and similar renowned poets. Paying due homage to the originals with citations on the page and endnotes too, she artfully commandeers phrases and rhythms while steering the actual topics in wildly different directions. She transforms Poe's "The Bells," for instance, to "The Smells": "Use your nose and find the smells! / All the smells! / What a lot of different things your sniffing nose foretells!" Not all the entries are satirical, but Shapiro's at her best when poking fun, whether she's riffing on Blake's "Sick Love" ("Oh, Tummy -- you are sick! / I ate too much / of ice cream on a stick."), Lord Byron ("So, our noses we'll be blowing") or even Stevenson's "Requiem": "Under a polka-dotted sheet." Love's monochrome ink-and-wash illustrations feature a multi-racial cast of children in various forms of travail or postures of reverie, along with the occasional stinky sponge, spattered pet or interested-looking bird. Read these aloud, either just for fun or to add decidedly different angles to a poetry unit.
School Library Journal - February 1, 2007
Shapiro offers parodies of 23 classic British and American poems. In her introductory note, she states that “…though parodies are often written to make fun of something, these poems spring from deep respect.” It is clear in reading her selections that the author knows the sources through and through and that she is quite a good poet in her own right. She parallels John Masefield’s “Sea-Fever” with the verse: “I must go down to the beach again, where there’s water,/sand, and sky,/And all I ask is my red toy boat with a string to pull it by…,” matching rhyme and rhythm, if not tone. Love’s black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings underscore the humor in each selection. The book is a gold mine for teachers wanting to illustrate command of certain poetic elements, and Shapiro’s endnotes on her choice of poets and poems are most thoughtful. The only thing that would have strengthened the book’s usefulness, and underscored Shapiro’s clever wordplay, would be the inclusion of the original poems. A book to read again and again, hopefully with copies of the classic versions close by.
Booklist - February 15, 2007
Adults who remember the original poems well enough to appreciate the light parodies may be the prime audience for this collection of 23 illustrated verses. But some kids will like the silliness, and with adult encouragement, may want to find the originals. Whether it's the take on Lord Byron's "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" ("So our noses we'll be blowing / And we'll cough until we wheeze"), or the parody of Ben Johnson's "Song, to Cecilia" ("Kick at me only with your feet, / And I will start to whine"), the singing rhythms and rhymes show the fun of poetry, especially when the verses are read aloud. The favorite may be "Soccer Land," an action -packed poem about a ball game, based on a song from A Midsummer Night's Dream The black-and-white illustrations extend the nonsense.
The Midwest Book Review - July 1, 2007
Nicely enhanced with occasional black-and-white illustrations by Judy Love, "I Must Go Down To The Beach Again And Other Poems" is a compilation of very highly recommended and entertaining verse by Karen Jo Shapiro characterized by storytelling, whimsey, humor, and themes that every child can recognize and appreciate. Of special note are the little homages (each of which begins 'With apologies to') citiing the established poet and the poem used as a rhythmic template for Karen Jo Shapiro's delightful effort. 'About My Baby Sister' - With apologies to George Gordon, Lord Byron ("She Walks in Beauty"): She wakes up crying in the night,/ Which keeps us all up very late./ She screams for milk with all her might,/ Then spits up everything she ate./ Her diapers are a messy sight--/ So why does Mom insist she's great?
Library Media Connection - October 1, 2007
The 23 poems in this book describe disaster or triumph-with a chuckle. There are disasters: the dog eats a green magic-marker; baby sister screams every night; the writer has the "rotten, lousy flu." And there are triumphs: making a goal in soccer; eating dad's pancakes; having fun at the each. Judy Love's pen and ink drawings add emotion and wit to the narratives. Karen Jo Shapiro parodies lines from 23 classic poems by well-known writers, including Shakespeare, Longfellow, Dickinson, Poe, and John Masefield (as in the title poem). The author's notes list the poems whose lines inspired her and why she picked them, but does not quote the originals. Despite that omission, the book stands on its own as an inviting collection of poems for elementary children to borrow or have read aloud. The technique of writing a poem, based on someone else's, might inspire some creative writing classes.
Parodies of Famous Poems
In recognition of National Poetry Month, "Morning Edition's" Renee Montagne talked with Karen Jo Shapiro on Tuesday about her poetry books. In the story Author Makes Famous Poems Fun For Kids, Shapiro reads some of her work and talks about her poetic parodies. I enjoyed the story and the exercise of guessing which famous poem each parody was based on. After listening I read through the comments, which were highly polarized. Here are a few examples (both in favor and against). * I am not just disappointed, but saddened that NPR would encourage the dumbing-down of poetry for children. * I think it is wonderful to introduce children to poetry in ANY form. * Perhaps we should lighten up a bit. So, I offer poets like Charles Ghigna, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak who write wonderful children's poems that I love!!! No need to dumb down other poems. * These poems were written for small children, to get them interested in a lifetime love of poetry reading. Once a child's ketchup and macaroni filled mind are entertained by the thought of reading these 'oversimplified' versions, they might actually be moved to read the classic poems that Ms. Shapiro is introducing to them. * After hearing Mary Jo Shapiro's poems that were "inspired" by classic poems, I plan on teaching the original poem along side Shapiro's version. I'll do anything to help a student make a connection, so that when they do encounter a classic poem (or its poet) later on in school, they will have some background information with which to make a connection. * I am a believer in lifting children UP to the level of the literature. We NEVER dumbed down great authors to our kids. * Getting kids away from the ever-present screen and into the page is the first step in getting them to be readers, and Karen Jo's book of poem "makeovers" might be a doorway into the unplugged world. I found this whole conversation about "dumbing-down" poems both fascinating and irritating. Since when is parody dumbing-down? Frankly, to parody well you need extensive knowledge of the original work. I think kids, particularly those in middle school could really exercise some poetic muscle by writing parodies of their own. I haven't seen the books (yet), but they seem like they might make wonderful mentor texts. During the interview when Shapiro was asked what kids would get out of these poems, she responded this way. (My apologies for the punctuation. I was typing while listening and a transcriptionist I am not!) I always meant the books to work on two levels at the same time, and so, the poems stand alone. I go in and read them to kindergartners, first graders, second graders who have never heard of William Shakespeare and they just appreciate the funny story, eating ketchup or eating macaroni and cheese and they appreciate it at that level. But what I wanted to give them that was extra is that it has these beautiful meters and rhythms taken from such wonderful writers like Edgar Allan Poe . . . The older kids, the middle schoolers that are just starting to learn about some of these famous poets, it kind of gives them an entryway or a way to connect with poets whose language is often difficult, and so this gives them a way to see that they can connect to poems in a more familiar way. You can learn more about these titles by clicking on the images above. Teachers will find that they can download the full text of the original poems (in PDF format) that inspired the parodies for both I Must Go Down to the Beach Again and Because I Could Not Stop My Bike. To hear a few more of these poems, listen to this podcast from LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library). For more information about the author, visit her web site. So, what say you dear readers? How do you feel about such parodies? Inquiring minds want to know. |
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