Birds on a Wire

by J. Patrick Lewis, Paul B. Janeczko, Gary Lippincott (Illustrator)

Two poetry masters create a slice of American life, in renga form. This portrait of a day in the life of an American village is told in an ancient poetic form known as the renga (meaning "linked verse"), in which one poet writes a verse and another poet responds to that. Then the first poet adds another verse, and so on. Each verse links somehow with the one preceding it but not with the others. This means that each new verse takes the story in a completely different direction as each poet comes up with a clever way to connect the new verse. Birds on a Wire, a Parents' Choice and IRA Teachers' Choice book, is a random romp around town.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Bethany Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting poem style that actually originated from Haiku it is written in Renga which two writers voice the poem. The first writes 3 lines and then the second writer writes two.

[Morgen Gaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poem mentions the different things taking place around town. It observes what the different people are doing and is a very calming read.
The poem is written in a specific style in which two authors write the story. The two authors take a turn writing lines in the poem. It made it to where the poem was not telling a story but does a good job at describing what is happening on each page. I think that this would be a good book for a teacher to read to the class to introduce this style of poetry. The teacher could then have students pair up with another student to write a poem together.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Renga -- makes this a unique picture book but didn't inspire me to pursue the poetry form further. Probably won't engage young readers, either.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely renga poem with great atmospheric illustrations. I and my toddler enjoyed it.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clever example of a renga! The stanzas are connected in theme and take the reader from one end of town to the other and from morning to night in the course of one day. Of course my favorite part is:

behind their teacher
a line of first-graders
each clutching a new book

crossing at the WALK sign
make way for readers

Wish I knew someone I could write a renga with. It looks like fun. Highly recommended for poetry fans!

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. I learned about the poetic form renga, loved the surprises in each stanza, and was amazed at how the illustrator contributed so strongly to the art form and kept the narrative cohesive. Great collaboration. More, please.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never heard of Renga before I read this book. Like everyone else, I've done Haiku do death, but this is really interesting and new. What a cool book to bring that to my attention! Very satisfying.

[Kate Belt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like haiku, renga is an ancient Japanese verse form, about 800 years old. Two or more poets take turns adding verses. Traditionally,the 1st writes three lines & the 2nd follows with 2 lines. The illustrations are superb.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think teachers will be able to use this for writing prompts and group projects. Beautifu illustrations.

[Marianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hae never heard of the renga form of poetry before. It's a fascinating style of writing. I also love the illustrations in this book. They capture the mood in color beautifully.

[Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

the poetry ponderous
illustrations beautiful
enjoyable linking of scenes

enjoyable concept
defeated by lackluster execution

[Mary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine example of renga.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this introduction to renga, but the authors didn't actually follow the form as they described in the introduction. The links from one verse to another were contrived, with all fitting the theme of the book rather than each linking only & directly to the previous. So, I tried to look at it as a collection of verse on a theme, celebrating small town Americana, and didn't particularly love the poems either.

Still, though I can't recommend you purchase it or use it for instruction, I do recommend you read your library's copy. The pictures are lovely & vibrant, and some lines do sing.