Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Poetry Month -- Science Verse

Science Verse
by Jon Scieszka
illustrated by Lane Smith
Viking, 2004

"On Wednesday in science class, Mr. Newton says, "You know, if you listen closely enough, you can hear the poetry of science in everything." I listen closely. On Thursday, I start hearing the poetry. In fact, I start hearing everything as a science poem. Mr. Newton has zapped me with a curse of SCIENCE VERSE."

So begins one of the most brilliant poetry collections ever. Besides giving a nod to almost every scientific concept...or at least a lot of them...Scieszka tips his hat to poets, poetry forms, songs, and nursery rhymes.

Here's one of my favorite short ones:

CHANGES

I'm a little mealworm,
Short and wiggly.
Here's my antenna,
Cute and jiggly.

Now I am a pupa,
Squat and white.
How did this happen?
I'm a sight.

Now I am a beetle.
What is this?
I really hate
Metamorphosis.



If its been awhile since you read this book, go back and remember what an amazing masterpiece it is. If you somehow missed it, go find it. (And make sure you listen to the cd it comes with!)

3 comments:

  1. We like this book lots in our house. Our favorite is the water cycle poem--"It's raining, it's pouring, for H20 it's boring..."

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  2. Mary Lee--

    I love this book--and Jon Scieszka's wacky sense of humor. I so enjoyed reading his books to kids.

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  3. I love this book...and the CD is great. I want him to write a few more like this (no problem, right?).

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