Black Swan White Crow

by J. Patrick Lewis, Christopher Manson (Illustrator)

A collection of haiku brings together such images as a spider in August, bison during a winter storm, crows resting on a phone wire, and a grizzly bear fishing in a stream, all enhanced by woodcut illustrations.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Laura Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my all-time favorite haiku collection, read many times over the years.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Patrick Lewis’s short Black Swan/White Crow is a bit like a children’s coffee table book. The literary content is thirteen haikus, accompanied by two- or three-color illustrations on the poem’s opposing page. The haikus are pleasant enough, and the illustrations are often a very fitting match to the poem’s message, but there is just not much to talk about it. This book would only be appropriate for a child who really likes haikus or J. Patrick Lewis. Appropriate for elementary and middle school readers.

[Katharine Grubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with some wonderful examples of haiku/haiga.

Use in the classroom, or simply if you're looking for some inspiration! Gives a super introduction about haiku: the season word and mentions the "syllable discrepancy" in American English.

My fave:
O little white crow,
have you seen my brother,
the black sheep?

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I really liked the pictures as well!