Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku - Hardcover

Paul B. Janeczko and J. Patrick Lewis have each written more than twenty-five children's picture books and poetry books. This is their first collaborative project.

Tricia Tusa has written and illustrated several acclaimed picture books, including Mrs. Spitzer's Garden; Maebelle's Suitcase; Camilla's New Hairdo; and Bunnies in My Head, which features drawings by young patients at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Grade 2-6 This book introduces senryu, a Japanese verse form that can involve the evasive, the punny, the parodic, and the slapstick. As the back cover explains, What is a senryu?/A funny poem that is/Almost haiku-ckoo. On the title page, readers find a youngster in pursuit of a renegade ball (a metaphor for the poetic style). It takes the boy down a ladder, below ground to a wacky parallel universe where everything familiar is turned upside down. As the chase continues, a series of delightful poems describes this strange world. The highly spirited verses feature witty wordplay and puns: My older sister/gets a complete makeover /very mascary! or On Ferris wheel/I regret French fries, milk shake /those below agree. Finally, the ball disappears into a giant poet-tree. A few of the offerings may not have the same layered meaning for youngsters as they do for adults; for example, an insect photographer introduces himself as a shutterbug. Still, this book fulfills its purpose to revive and invigorate the language, and does so with humor. In her ink-and-watercolor cartoons, Tusa uses a soft palette, strong lines, and abundant white space to define the comical characters. Her artwork is a marvelous vehicle to increase children's visual literacy while complementing these zany and memorable verses. A fun choice to pair with Janeczko's A Kick in the Head (Candlewick, 2005). Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA
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