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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Poetry Friday with a review of It's Raining Pigs and Noodles

Jack Prelutsky loves finding ways to hook children on poetry, and he has been creating poems that serve this purpose for years now. In today's poetry title you will see how he helps children to see for themselves that poetry can be great fun.

It's Raining Pigs & NoodlesIt’s Raining Pigs and Noodles
Jack Prelutsky
Illustrated by James Stevenson
Poetry
For ages 6 to 8
HarperCollins, 2000, 978-0060291945
Life is too short for us to spend our days doing serious things and having serious thoughts all the time. A dose of silliness and goofiness is required every day at least once. Some of us find it hard to make the switch from being sensible to silly, which can be very trying. Where is that funny bone hiding and how do we get it to do what it is supposed to do?
   Thankfully for everyone who needs help finding their inner silly self, Jack Prelutsky has put together a collection of poems that are guaranteed to tickle the funny bone, thus bringing the silliness that lies within us all to the surface. Every single poem in this book is one hundred percent amusing, and readers can be sure that after a few pages they will be feeling a lot less serious.
   The poems begin with poem called It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles. If you like the idea of it raining pigs and noodles you should read the rest of the poem where the poet describes how “Assorted prunes and parrots / are dropping from the sky,” and these are followed by “a bunch of carrots, / some hippopotami.” The poem wraps up with the words, “I like this so much better / than when it’s raining rain.”
   A couple of pages later in The Chicken Club, we meet some people who are afraid of everything and anything, which is why they are members of this special club. The club members are afraid of thunder and shadows, creepy crawlies, and even their own reflections. In fact they are afraid of so many things that “we’ve even started clucking / and we’re sprouting chicken wings.”
   Children and their grownups are going to have a grand time dipping into this book and sampling a helping of poetry that will make them smile or chuckle.

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