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25th out of 40 books
—
6 voters
Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems
An eleven-year-old boy named Robert voices typical—and not so typical—middle-grade concerns in this unique, memorable collection of hilarious poems. His musings cover the usual stuff, like pizza, homework, thank-you notes, and his annoying older sister. In addition, he speculates about professional wrestling for animals, wonders why no one makes scratch-and-sniff fart stic...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
October 18th 2004
by Sandpiper
(first published October 1st 2004)
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The author uses several metaphors and similes in his poems while still being very simplistic in his writing. The “shape” of each poem helps readers to visually “see” what the poem does not say in words. The use of these together helps to create a better understanding of the poem’s meaning for younger or reluctant readers. The poems are written in free verse with some of them being only three lines long. The poems presented in this book are used to humor people and make them laugh. The author us...more
This is a highly enjoyable, unique book of poems. Through humorous concrete poetry, the author allows us to see into the world of a fictional 11-year-old boy. Each poem poses a creative way of looking at a situation—especially according to an 11-year-old boy. My favorite has to be “The Autobiography of Murray the Fart.” Using only a drawing of the outline of a cylindrical shape (which can be interpreted as a can of soda) and the arrangement of the words, Mr. Grandits is able to convey the journe...more
This was my selection for my poetry book. This was a collection of concrete poems all about the life of a boy named Robert, who finds himself in so many stereotypical boy situations. There are poems not just about ituations but also about things he enjoys such as basketball. This was such an enjoyable and hilarious book. I think I laughed while reading every single one of the poems that were written in this book. My favorite poem was "The Thank You Letter",which included footnotes. I thought thi...more
Technically, It's Not My Fault is a wonderful poetry book for children. These are some of the most creative poems I have ever read. The poems are written in a way that illustrates the text. For instance, in the poem "Skateboard," the text goes down as the skateboard goes down. The text also wraps around into a figure eight as the author describes the skateboard going around in a figure eight. I think that children would love reading this book of poetry because it shows that poetry does not have...more
3/15 - This looks cool because it is by the fictional little brother of the high school girl who "wrote" Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems. I loved that book but it was pretty much a high school read. This one might be good for middle schoolers since the main character is a middle schooler. We shall see...
3/21 - Finished it today and I was right! This is perfect for middle school and younger. My 10 year old laughed at a few of them (Autobiography of a Fart and the gravestone for the pet whose "insid...more
3/21 - Finished it today and I was right! This is perfect for middle school and younger. My 10 year old laughed at a few of them (Autobiography of a Fart and the gravestone for the pet whose "insid...more
Technically, It's Not my Fault is a fantastic book for middle and high school students (potentially some elementary students also). It provides a collection of poetry (some humorous, serious or informational) in a variety of formats. For example, a poem entitled, "My Stupid Day" the poem is written in a circle around the page in the shape of a clock--with the poem describing what the person does throughout the day. In another example, a poem entitled, "How We Ended Up With A Strange Pizza", the...more
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Any book that has a poem called “The Autobiography of Murray the Fart” is going to make kids laugh and want to read more. These poems are all told from the point of view of Robert, an 11 year old boy who is clever but bored. “Technically, it’s not Robert’s fault that a concrete block fell on the car or that his sister’s homework got blown to smithereens. Really, he doesn’t try to cause trouble. He’s just an ordinary kid who likes pizza and sports and computer games.” Grandits creates visually en...more
Even though I'm not finished with this book, I can already say its really good, I read the first book "Blue Lipstick" which is about a girl named Jessie struggling through her middle school years. Both books are written in "poem" form, The really cool thing is that it's written in all crazy ways, this book is short so be sure that you have an extra book in hand, becuase once you start reading this, you can't stop. It's like an addiction, a drug, haha nice comparison to a book huh? Well, anyways,...more
Grade/interest level: Upper Elementary/Middle School
Reading level: not found
Genre: Poetry
Main Characters: n/a
Setting: n/a
POV: Robert
The main character Robert takes his readers into the daily life of a young boy who gets into mischief, is bored at school, and writes about the weirdness of his family--all through concrete poetry.
This is a fun and funny book of poetry that teaches students how creative poetry can be. This can be used during a poetry unit on freeverse poems. The content is acces...more
Reading level: not found
Genre: Poetry
Main Characters: n/a
Setting: n/a
POV: Robert
The main character Robert takes his readers into the daily life of a young boy who gets into mischief, is bored at school, and writes about the weirdness of his family--all through concrete poetry.
This is a fun and funny book of poetry that teaches students how creative poetry can be. This can be used during a poetry unit on freeverse poems. The content is acces...more
Wow what a fun little collection of poems! I almost like this- almost- as much Hate That Cat and Love That Dog, which are two very wonderful free verse poetry books.
The thing that I loved the most about this little book of poetry (and here you will see my education background start to pop out) is the fact that this book is interactive. You have to twist it and turn it around in order to read all the lines as the poetry literally flows around the pages. The content is funny and would be a great o...more
The thing that I loved the most about this little book of poetry (and here you will see my education background start to pop out) is the fact that this book is interactive. You have to twist it and turn it around in order to read all the lines as the poetry literally flows around the pages. The content is funny and would be a great o...more
A school bus that eats children, the autobiography of a fart, an annotated thank you letter for a hideous sweater, and the best excuse for not mowing the lawn are just a few of the poems in this collection. Each concrete poem is told from the perspective of Robert, an 11-year-old boy who likes skateboards, video games, and tricking the class bully. The poems are funny, gross, goofy, sarcastic, and insightful--much like a pre-teen boy. Even readers who don't like poetry can get into these poems.
As an elementary school teacher, I have found that kids love to read and write poetry ... especially when it is in a unique form, and when it is hilariously funny. You don't get much more creative than concrete poetry! And the poems that are presented in this collection are funny! There is even a poem about a fart, which the boys, especially, thought was the end all be all of poetry. They couldn't wait to go back to their seats and try their own "gross" poems after that!
Booklist calls this title "winning, highly creative collection" that also serves the purpose to "convince readers that poetry can be loud, outrageous, gross fun".
I couldn't agree more! "Technically, It's Not My Fault" is a collection of concrete poems from the perspective of a middle school student. Like most concrete poems, the poet uses the language and the placement of words to convey a message. In this case, John Grandits uses it to portray humor in the daily life of a growing adolescent. Th...more
I couldn't agree more! "Technically, It's Not My Fault" is a collection of concrete poems from the perspective of a middle school student. Like most concrete poems, the poet uses the language and the placement of words to convey a message. In this case, John Grandits uses it to portray humor in the daily life of a growing adolescent. Th...more
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I am not an artistic person - but I am visual. This book combines the art of word choice and organization into visual concepts. The themes were higher elementary and could also work for younger middle school aged children.
I felt that I was reading a poem and a puzzle at the same time.
This would be a terrific book to engage boys or non-poetry lovers in. In fact, I want to make this a mentor text for writing a concrete poem.
I felt that I was reading a poem and a puzzle at the same time.
This would be a terrific book to engage boys or non-poetry lovers in. In fact, I want to make this a mentor text for writing a concrete poem.
Awesome, just wonderful! This was my first experience of concrete poems, at least a whole book of them and I loved it. I liked how the character of Robert was throughout the book. Also, this would be great for a middle school and possibly an intermediate class. It would just show them that poems can come in all different formats. It would be really interesting to see the kids do their own concrete poems.
Robert's story is told in the form of concrete poetry: a type of poetry that is physically written in the form of the story. The poem "Robert's Four At-Bats" is a perfect example. The first line of the poem is written in a box, the shape of a baseball diamond. Each time Robert is up to bat, the line of poetry describing how that ball was hit is in the arc that particular ball took. Fabulous!!!
Although "Blue Lipstick" (a girls' version of this book) is much better, this book is still enjoyable and has fewer taboos. Thematically, while "Blue Lipstick" was more poignant, this book is more light-hearted and fun. I only found two taboos: (1) Robert talks about a boy showing off a pack of cigarettes, and (2) Robert uses fireworks in one poem.
Very interesting stories, poems, thoughts, etc. about/by/from a pre teen boys perspective!
I thought a few of these could have been written by my 13 yr old nephew Andrew.
Gross as it was i think my favorite one was the TyrannosaurBus Rex. And the "What are you thinking about Robert?" & "The thank-you letter w/footnotes" were hillarious also
xoDaleB.xo
I thought a few of these could have been written by my 13 yr old nephew Andrew.
Gross as it was i think my favorite one was the TyrannosaurBus Rex. And the "What are you thinking about Robert?" & "The thank-you letter w/footnotes" were hillarious also
xoDaleB.xo
Highly imaginative collection of concrete poems follows Robert through the thoughts and interests of an 11 year old boy, my favorite being a thank you letter complete with snarky footnotes. Predecessor to Blue Lipstick, which tells the story of Robert's sister through her own style of concrete poetry.
Neat book of creative and humorous concrete poems--sort of like if Shel Silverstein were a graphic design major, only with less rhyming. My sixth grade students would have loved it. In many of the poems, you have to turn the book in order to follow the lines of poetry through twisting shapes. For an adult reader, though, I think it loses a bit of its charm. The autobiography of a fart just doesn't tickle my funnybone much anymore.
This is really well done. Poems written from the point of view of an eleven-year-old boy named Robert. It's funny at times and very familiar topics for a 'tween aged kid. Not really for a younger audience, although younger kids would enjoy some of the poems.
All I have to do is read the poem on the cover of this book, and kids clamor for it. Grandits has such a fantastic sense of humor, and his voice as this kid, Robert, rings true. For kids who say they don't like poetry, this book will hook them.
Apr 02, 2008
West Region,
added it
Middle School - Poetry
Technically, It’s Not My Fault
By John Grandits
Take a look at Robert’s crazy view of the world through a series of poems that are shaped into pictures and patterns.
Here Robert takes his new skateboard to the 7-Eleven parking lot; is kicked out, and goes to the park, is kicked out, and goes home, and is kicked out.
Robert also enjoys playing a little bball, dribbling up the court, making a lay-up, the ball going around and around and around the rim – Oh, no, Robert was robbed...more
Technically, It’s Not My Fault
By John Grandits
Take a look at Robert’s crazy view of the world through a series of poems that are shaped into pictures and patterns.
Here Robert takes his new skateboard to the 7-Eleven parking lot; is kicked out, and goes to the park, is kicked out, and goes home, and is kicked out.
Robert also enjoys playing a little bball, dribbling up the court, making a lay-up, the ball going around and around and around the rim – Oh, no, Robert was robbed...more
A cute collection of concrete poems from a teenage boy's point of view. If you've read Blue Lipstick, this book is from her brother's perspective. A wonderful way to get young readers to begin looking at poetry as something for them.
I love this book of concrete poetry. My favorite poem is "DRAWKCAB" ("backward" spelled backward!). I cracked up at the part when the teacher asked the kid if he was having a seizure. So genuinely funny. The other poems in the book were entertaining, too. This is an awesome way to teach kids about this form of poetry.
Perfect example of concrete poetry. Plus, any poem entitled "The Autobiography of Murray the Fart" will be humorous enough for the middle school crowd. LOVED IT.
This is how concrete poetry should be done. One should be as excited to look at the image the words create as well as read the words that create the picture.
I love the fonts and way that the poems build pictures both with evacative images and the words themselves are they are tossed out on the page. I wish that my English teachers had used this book to teach poetry.
Children LOVE these poems. Again, this book is more appropriate for grades six and up, but can be used in lower grades with teacher guidance.
I now love these types of poems they are funny and creative. Many people will enjoy reading with the way the author writes the peom.
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