Kooky Crumbs: Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days

by J. Patrick Lewis, Mary Uhles (Illustrator)

From National Hat Day (January 15th) to National Vinegar Day (November 1st), former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis rejoices in this calendar of dizzy days, celebrating them all in poetic style.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Ramon Requena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of poems about simple things like kites, pencils, and cookies. The poems are short, about half a page in length for all of them. This helps in reading for any reader that may not be fond of poems.
The media of the book is that of colored pencils that that are used to draw sharp drawings in each page. The art of the book feels soft even though the art itself is drawn in a rough manner; the poems are of subjects not deep in a any way and this gives the book a relaxed tone throughout. The art and poems are so closely related in tone that the book as a whole is full of synergy.
I do not like reading poetry but this book, which has very short poems, is easy to consume as the poems themselves do not require any commitment from me or other readers. This book can be used in a lesson of writing poetry as an example of how poems can be written about anything and not just deep themes and of serious topics. Poetry can be as simple as talking about cheese to expressing one's feelings; in a 4th-5th grade class, this book can be an inspiration of how to write simple poetry.

[Kati Zuber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the poems were pretty cute and funny for the most part. I enjoyed a lot of them, and it's fun to learn about the holidays. There was one poem that I didn't love though, and that was the one about uncle Bertie, who was covered in spider veins and discolored from the sun, then tried to get surgery to fix himself, and it didn't work out. I felt like that was calling out people with spider veins, which aren't even caused by sun exposure. Maybe a poem about sun burn for sunscreen day? Or how sunscreen works?

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty-nine humorous poems highlight odd holidays in this themed collection by the witty and observant J. Patrick Lewis. Not only do young readers have the chance to identify different holidays with which they are unfamiliar such as Inventors' Day and National Hot Dog Day, but they also can chortle at the whimsical and just right verses and smile at the colorful illustrations. It would be interesting to know who comes up with these strange days that are considered noteworthy, but then again, I'm betting some folks just need to dream up an excuse to celebrate. It's clear that the poet had a blast writing some of these poems, and readers will enjoy sharing them with others. Folks who still hang on to their standard telephones rather than cell phones might be amused--or annoyed--by "Finger Play, which states that "using the phone is so yesterday / And proves you must be pretty old" (unpaged). Of course, the brief "What a bunch of brats!" (unpaged) honoring hot dogs will have great appeal as will the ode to an outdoor toilet ("Outhouses"). Oh, J. Patrick Lewis, what will you think of and write next? Several of these are perfect for reading aloud with classmates and family members, and they might even prompt someone to dream up his/her own holiday and write a poem about it.

[Kid Lit Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kooky Crumbs celebrates some kooky “holidays” one may only find online, but all are interesting, especially when J. Patrick Lewis, former U. S. Children’s Poet Laureate, poetically reminds us of each day. Holidays such as National Hot Dog Day, National DNA Day, and National Vinegar Day. There is also World Vegetarian Day, World UFO Day, World Math Day, and World Toilet Day.

Outhouses

“I think that I shall never see
An outhouse lovely as a tree,

To Read the Full Review and View Interior Spreads, Go To: http://bit.ly/KookyCrumbs

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun kid's book. It's a book of poems written in celebration of, or reflecting on, wacky holidays. As with any book of poetry some are great and some are only so-so, but several of them are really creative. My favorites were "Advice to the Young", "Ballad of the Potato" and "The Speedy Floor Lamp". Some of the poems seemed to be pitched a bit old (I doubt if kids would really get the joke), but overall they were quite amusing.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry. Some of the poems are quite clever.