The Horn Book Guide

LITERATURE

Janeczko, Paul B., Selector

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

64 pp. | Candlewick | April, 2005 | Trade ISBN 0-7636-0662-6 $17.99

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Chris Raschka. This collection introduces the rules of poetry. The twenty-nine poems--from light verse to a Shakespearean sonnet--are arranged by form (e.g., tercet, haiku, roundel). Each poem appears along with a small pictorial mnemonic in one corner of the page, a sentence describing the form, and a bright illustration. The back matter consists of expanded notes on and explanations of each form.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2005