Calef Brown, the author and illustrator of this fun book of poetry for kids, describes this hefty, 80-page book as a book of poems, paintings and serious nonsense. It is delightful, whimsical and fun. It is a great way to introduce poetry to kids. With this book as the poetry teacher, they’ll learn poetry is fun, imperfect, colorful and imaginative. We learn poetry can express feelings, describe people and places.
In this book, there are rhymes, phrases that don’t exactly rhyme but somehow still work, puns, and just fun ways to play with words. We meet many people, a cyclops and a gnome. We have fun with turtles and insects. We go to parks, boring concerts, restaurants and outer space. There are poems about food, trees, parents and antique shopping.
There are poems about otters, aardvarks and bandicoots. According to this author every part of life and all of life’s experiences can be described and understood through poetry.
And his illustrations are just as off the wall and imaginative with lively, snazzy colors and patterns. We learn that cyclops have blue faces, that astronauts eat cupcakes with pink icing in space. We see a grandmother with red glasses wearing sequined socks, we see a gnome with a blue denim shirt. We see several insects that look quite human and wonder if the insects look like friends of the illustrator.
In this book there are over 80 poems. They will make your kid laugh and wonder. In language art classes in school, elements of poetry begin in first grade and continue each year with kids often being asked to write poems in second or third grade. If they have read this book, they will have the hang of it and not take poetry too seriously.
Up Verses Down is a fun book to read aloud to your five year old and then have them read the poems to you when they are between 7 and 9 years old. Reading this book to you will help your child find rhythm and improve their diction
Calef Brown wrote and illustrated this book in Rhode Island in the United States. It was published by the Christy Ottaviano Books imprint of Henry Holt and Company. You can find it on the Henry Holt website, in Amazon and wherever fun books are sold. You can find my review of this book on my youtube channel Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte. I would appreciate your subscription!