Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme

Poems selected by: Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated by: Meilo So

Random House Inc. 2005

Collection of Poetry

28 pages

This book by Jack Prelutsky is a great way to introduce poetry to students within a classroom. The book of poems consists of about twenty four poems that range in themes. The themes the poems describe are things such as feelings, animals, bugs, and much more. The author even has a section on every other page that starts a rhyme/poem. This helps students to understand how a poem starts and it allows them to finish it with their own version of that specific themes. Don’t be afraid, come and step into a world of poems that will hold you captive within their lines and rhythms.

The Illustrations within this book play a role in the background meaning of the poems. One piece of artwork can explain more than one poem within this book. The each illustration is created around a single theme and is spread widely across two pages. Meilo So, the illustrator, does a spectacular job capturing the illustrations on each page. She uses a variety of things to create her artwork in many of the books she illustrates. However, in this book she uses watercolors to express her art. Her illustrations express emotions and create vivid visuals for the poems.

This book by Jack Prelutsky is an excellent choice of poetry to use within a classroom. This book has about three different ways that it can be integrated into an elementary school class. First off, this book has plenty of examples of poetry within its pages. This can help students to better understand rhyming and how poetry flows. This book is also a great choice because there is a “poemstart” for each theme. The “poemstarts” are placed in this book to guide students while they learn how to write poems and rhymes. Lastly, this book can be integrated into the classroom by introducing the different types of poems and poetry. This book is an extravagant way for students to explore the variety of poems while comparing and contrasting the different types of poetry. All in all, Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme is a book will get you excited about poetry.