Poetry Review: Janeczko Collection

Dirty Laundry Pile : Poems in Different Voices                      selected by Paul Janeczko                               Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Bibliographic Citation: Janeczko, Paul. Dirty laundry pile:poems in different voices. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. New York: Harper Collins. 2001.

Review: This poetry book is a compilation of many poems by many authors. The theme of the book seems to be keeping items and places clean. The broom, the leaves from a tree, the bear's cave, to using the washing machine. Then there are the poems told from the point of view of the tree, animal, and insect. The poetry selected for this book uses great wording, font and word picture to add to the meaning of the poetry.  Most of the poems are rhyming and help keep kids interested in reading one more.  A must have for every shelf!

The Vacuum Cleaner's Revenge
by Patricia Hubbell

I munch. I crunch.
I zoom. I roar.

I clatter-clack
Across the floor.

I swallow twigs.
I slurp dead bugs.

I suck the cat hair
From the rugs.

My stomach full
Of dirt and dust

I gulp another
Pizza crust.

A tiresome life -
All work, no play -

I think I'll swallow you today!

Introduction to Share:The above poem is a great way to get started with this book.  After reading the title and thinking about what the book could be about, read the poem, not the title, and see if students and guess what object it is describing.  What other objects around your house could you write a simple poem about from the object's perspective? The television? The dishwasher? The fun poetry you could come up with modeling after this poem would be great. Another fun poem in this book is the Dirty Laundry Pile.  The poem is told from the perspective of the laundry and how you cannot ignore it when it starts to smell. What other items could smell or make noise to make you notice them? What short poem or rhyming riddle could be written about that item?