In this poetry picture book, Shapiro takes 26 famous English and American poems and transforms them into fresh and fun verse for children. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?" becomes "How Do I Love Ketchup? Let Me Count the Ways." Joyce Kilmer's "Trees," becomes "Me: I think that I will never see, / another person just like me."

Faulkner's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are in perfect tune with the text. The cartoon-like, double-page spreads and spot art are lively and expressive.

What is so wonderful about this book is that it works on many levels. It is a winning choice for reading aloud to younger students. Too, teachers can use this in middle and high school classes.

Classroom Experience: We took the book into an eighth-grade Language Arts classroom where we discussed various poetic forms. We read aloud the original poem and then Shapiro's version. The students loved it. They then created their own versions of such classics as Robert Burns' "A Red, Red Rose."

This book receives our highest recommendation. District-wide purchase strongly encouraged.

Reviewed by the teachers at Education Oasis
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