Avalancheby Michael J. Rosen
illustrated by David Butler
Candlewick Press, 1998
I love it when books do more than one job! Here's one that fits into your ABC tub and onto your poetry shelf.
AVALANCHE tells the alphabetic rhyming story of a snowball that gets waaayyy out of hand. So to speak. As it were. (he-he)
"Once there was an Avalanche
that started out quite small.
It all began when Bobby tossed
a harmless-looking snowball...
This snowball sailed across the yard
and struck a Cat-food can.
It caught the Doghouse in its path
as though it had a plan."
The snowball rolls on and flies on, getting bigger and bigger until it is large enough to fill the universe.
"And so the Vacuum in the cosmos
clutched this cold compound,
and then rewound it round itself
and hurled it homeward bound.
With every twist something split off
returning to our World:
Each question, ocean, lake and jet
uncurled and downward swirled.
X marked the spot where something stood
before the snowball's theft,
and each thing landed back in place --
or had it ever left?
As for You, you might have seen,
or maybe might have heard,
the alphabet that's rolled inside
this avalanche of words."
Want to know what Rosen does with Z? You'll have to check for yourself! Quite a clever and surprising ending, I think!
that started out quite small.
It all began when Bobby tossed
a harmless-looking snowball...
This snowball sailed across the yard
and struck a Cat-food can.
It caught the Doghouse in its path
as though it had a plan."
The snowball rolls on and flies on, getting bigger and bigger until it is large enough to fill the universe.
"And so the Vacuum in the cosmos
clutched this cold compound,
and then rewound it round itself
and hurled it homeward bound.
With every twist something split off
returning to our World:
Each question, ocean, lake and jet
uncurled and downward swirled.
X marked the spot where something stood
before the snowball's theft,
and each thing landed back in place --
or had it ever left?
As for You, you might have seen,
or maybe might have heard,
the alphabet that's rolled inside
this avalanche of words."
Want to know what Rosen does with Z? You'll have to check for yourself! Quite a clever and surprising ending, I think!
You all are doing an amazing job with the poetry posts. I've got a whole list of new poetry books I want to buy! Carol
ReplyDeleteToo clever! I'll have to look for this one--Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe illustrator now lives in Granville :)
ReplyDeleteWe were at the library Saturday, sorting donations for the next booksale, and Lo! there was a copy of Avalanche. We have now read it six times.
ReplyDelete