Poetry Friday - A Review of Button up! Wrinkled Rhymes

When I first met my husband, he had a T-shirt that was more hole than fabric. He loved that shirt, and would not consider for a moment that perhaps it was time to retire the poor thing. Eventually, I put the shirt away in his treasure box, and every so often he finds it there and reminisces about the adventures that  he and his shirt shared.

My husband's attachment to his shirt is not unusual, and people all over the world treasure items of clothing that they associate with special people or memorable times. Today's poetry collection will resonate with anyone who has had an item of clothing that they remember fondly.

Button Up! Wrinkled rhymes

Alice Schertle

Illustrated by Petra Mathers

Poetry Picture book

For ages 6 to 9

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009, 978-0-15-205050-4

    Clothes are just clothes right? They cover us up and keep us warm. And yet, many of us have certain clothes that are special. We have a lucky shirt that we wear when we have a test or a race to run. We have a worn sweater that someone we loved knitted for us, and we insist on wearing the sweater until it falls apart.

   This amusing collection of poems tells the story of some special clothes, and they are written from the point of view of the clothes themselves. Each item of clothing belongs to a young animal, and each one has a story to tell.

   We meet Violet’s hiking hat. A pink chapeau with ear flaps and a bill, the hat shares many adventures with Violet, going on hikes, looking at the stars, having baths, and even going to bed with her.

   Then there are Emily’s undies, a collection of colorful and ruffled undergarments that are proud of the fact that they are “fit for a queen,” and that everyone has seen their “laces and bows.”

   These outspoken undies are not the only ones who are proud of their status in life. There are also Joshua’s jammies, who declare very firmly that they are not “jammies for penguins” or any other animals. They are jammies that belong to Joshua, and Joshua alone. By the by, just in case you are curious, Joshua is a young alligator.

   These wonderful poems will delight young readers who have certain items of clothing that have sentimental value. Children will enjoy looking at the cunning pictures of the animal wearing their clothes, and they will laugh at the funny things the clothes say about the people they belong to.