Doodle dandies: Poems that take shape

by J. Patrick Lewis

Ingeniously uniting words and pictures, children's author Lewis takes verse to a new level with his innovative "shape" poetry, where the form of each poem relates to its content. Beautifully complemented by Lisa Desimini's boldly original art. Full color.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

The exercise of writing/constructing poems with a visual component is intriguing here but not so inspiring, as I think children’s poetry books try to be. Children’s books are inherently visual, so this isn’t a surprising attempt, but expression is tough enough in one medium—constraining it further with verbal and visual channels can strain to breaking the creative process. My favorite was “First Burst of Spring.”

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love J Patrick Lewis' work but this isn't one of my favorites. However these are some of the ones I really liked:
Dachshund
Giraffe
Weeping Willow
Synchronized Swim Team
Winter

[Sharlet Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to poetry. The poems are drawn on pictures to tell the meaning.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

J. Patrick Lewis won the 2011 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN POETRY FOR CHILDREN, an award for his aggregate work, which includes this book. Each turn of the page brings a delightful poetic portrayal of the subject/s he was apparently inspired by, no more than one per page or one per spread of two pages. The illustrations, called, "images," on the cover of the book perfectly complement the word art which forms the shapes of objects or actions. And this book has unusual things in it, such as synchronized swimmers and short poems about baseball pitches and their motion helping the ball evade the bat. That spread is titled, "A Swing and a Miss." This book is a delightful read and I hope it stays in print.

[Heather Fonseca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The uniqueness of these poems set a fun and creative tone for reading and writing poetry. J. Patrick Lewis captures the audience through poetry that provides words that are shaped into the theme of the poem. The tone of the poem is set, whether it be the words that take shape of an object or those that express an action. For example, one piece of poetry use the word, "bud," which represents the growth of a plant. The word, "bud" sprouts up from the soil.
The collection of poems would work for all age groups, teaching the techniques and crafts of poetry.

[Marilyn Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry
All grades
I liked how visualizations in this book made the words come alive. It was fun to read and kept my attention throughout. I think this would be a great book to show kids that poetry can be fun and to bring out their creativity in writing or art. I thought that the pictures were well drawn. The poems themselves were a little lacking, but I think the fun illustrations and word arrangement made up for it.

[Olivia Hoist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis
9/12/18
4/5
Poetry, Grades K-2
Another book on poetry for children. This one was probably my favorite because each page had unique placement of the words. The shapes were all different, and it was really neat. Kids would really like this because it's short and sweet. I recommend this for lower level elementary school readers.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grades: K-3

These were really creative poems especially because of all of the different shapes. It was interesting how the author took so many common things and animals and found ways to present them in a new way. Each page was so different it made you really pay attention and read the poems closely. I think my favorite one was "Giraffe."

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love playing with words and shapes. Here the art, the words and the shapes all come together to create a feast for the eye and the ear. Great way to introduce a twist on simple poetry by arranging the words into art.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry
K-2nd
This was such a cute poetry book and I loved how the poems outlined what they were about. For example, the one poem describing giraffes was laid out in the shape of a giraffe. It makes the poems fun to read and to visually see what the reader is about to read about.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains poems in fun ways, in the shape of a giraffe, on swimmers legs, etc. Would be great resource to teach context clues and idioms.

[Sue Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so clever and well illustrated.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems written in shapes.

[Shaniah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The genre of this book is poetry and it was published in 1998. I really did not like this book because it was really confusing to read, but I would recommend this book for elementary students.

[Tristan Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very cute way to show students poetry and even depicts the shape of animals in the formatting of the poem.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, creative book!

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that the poems are creatively expressed in a visual way.

[Hannah Learmont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade: 1-4
Unique Fact: Poems in different shapes based on the Poem. Each poem is about a variety of ideas, concepts or thoughts easily understood by students.

[Bonnie Barnum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade:2-5
Unique Fact: covers many different topics not just one.

[Harley Stine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doodle Dandies is a very interesting and unique book. Inside are different poems that take the shape of what the poem is about. For example, one poem about a Dachshund puppy shows a picture of the dog and the poem around him. The illustrations are very vibrant and colorful. The pictures almost look real. There was a poem for everyone. There were poems about sports, pets, other animals, and items in nature. Each poem on a topic taught the reader a little bit about it and then the picture added to your understanding. Some examples of the poems that were insightful were Halley's Comet, skyscrapers, and turtles. My favorite poem was the one about a weeping willow tree. The picture was just so beautiful, a night scene with fireflies. I just loved the feel of the page. It was a little hard to read due to the mirror imaging but it was just so unique that it really stood out to me.

Kids will love reading this book because the poems are short so they will not get bored with the book. Sometimes after I finished reading the poem I spent about another minute just looking at the picture that went along with it because besides the words there was so much going on in the page. The pictures were not distracting from the poems, they were just so full of detail that when I looked closely I noticed things I did not notice before.

I could use this book so much in my classroom. This would not be a book I would read aloud to my students but I could definitely see this one being checked out a lot in my classroom library. In class we could try to recreate one of the scenes in the book using shoeboxes without the lids. For example, there was a poem about worms in dirt. Students could fill their shoeboxes with dirt and leaves and grass. In English we could make our own poems about random everyday objects and create pictures to go along with the poem. For extra credit I could challenge my students to actually put their words in the shape of whatever their poem is about just like the book.

For Pre-K through 2nd grade.

[KalaKieft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting being the poems were in shapes describing the meaning of the poem. I gave it a 3 because I think it might be difficult for some children to read, definitely a good read aloud book.

[Chris Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Category (Poetry)
Found on pg. 241 in the textbook

Description

1. Poems come from many angles and words that stretch up and down the page. Whether the reader is reading down, then up, the poems are fun and sometimes tongue-twisters to say the least. From Skinny Bonnie Bumber to upside down swimming teams, the variety of shorts poems fill every and the entire page. If poems and cool picture are your fancy, this book is for you!

Possible use in the classroom

2. The very thing that I see in the in book that can be used for teaching is the ryhming that each pages teaches students who then can come up with their own lists of words to replace in the book. For example, on page 3, the reader can look at this ryhme and then take out words and replace them with words they either find or already know. This book would be useful in 2nd and 3rd grade.

Visual elements

3. Every page is filled with different colors and tones, which changes the mood of the poems that are written for those pages. However, the mood does not seem to be negative but rather gives the students some variations in poetry and how the illustrations can affect the meaning of such poems.

Personal reaction

4. I really got exicted when I turned to the first page of this book. Although the outside actually did little to hook me towards this book, I simply picked it up and read through each page, looking at the different illustrations and how they contribute the overall theme of the book. This was one that took me by surprise but one that I was unable to put down.

[Memory Kopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun poetry book where the poems take the shape of the subject. J. Patrick Lewis uses this fun visual poetry with these 19 poems. He uses many forms such as alliteration in the weeping willow poem and using ending rhyming words in the dachshund poem. These are concrete poems using some tongue twister fun. These poems would be useful for grades K-3 in a poetry lesson. Some of the poems could be a little tricky to read for the younger kids with all the twisting and turning needed to follow along. While it can be difficult for one student it can also be tons of fun for another student especially one that is new to poetry so you can show them all the fun poetry has to offer if you can just open your mind. The illustrator Lisa Desimini uses mixed media illustrations for each poem and each page of this book seems to have a different look and tone to it. Like with one poem being a little dark and mysterious like the Weeping Willow to one being bright and colorful like A Swing and a Miss. With all the different choices in this book it would be fun for teachers to just pick and choose when using this book depending on what the topic they are discussing is. My favorite poem is Giraffe which I think is so much fun and could be used in a science lesson when learning about giraffes. I do enjoy this book and think it can be a lot of fun for most students but I just caution teachers to be aware of their audience when asking students to read these on their own since some can be a little difficult to follow along with.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, J. Patrick Lewis takes the sometimes confusing world of poetry and makes it fun for all ages. Doodle Dandies is a book full of poems that take the shape of the subject of each poem. The poems are about many things such as butterflies, snakes, dogs, baseball, spring, etc. For example, Weeping Willow is a poem about a willow tree and is written in the shape of the tree or Lashondra Scores is a poem about a last second score in a basketball game and the poem is written in an arch to show the shape of the throw. The words are few, but powerful which makes this book wonderful for reluctant readers. The illustrations are beautiful and make a perfect connection to the poems.

When poems take shape, as in this book, it really keeps the interest of the reader and may inspire some who dislike poetry, to find their niche in this area. Doodle Dandies would make a great addition to any classroom library and would be an interesting introduction to writing shape poems or using a particular poem to introduce a certain subject like butterflies or tall buildings. This book could be used for kindergarten through fourth grade. A teacher could use this book to present shape poems. They could provide different shapes for the children to choose from and have them write a poem about the shape, in the shape of the item. This lesson could be used for a science project, social studies or even a math review.

[Mary Feeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doodle Dandies is a book of poems that is full of vibrant colors and illustrations that tie in with the topic of the poems. It is an example of concrete poems which means that the poems takes the shape of the subject written about. It includes poems of various topics including animals, sports and nature that will spark the attention of a wide audience.

I think Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis is a great book of poems that can capture the interest of children and adults. It has beautiful illustrations that display the subject in the shape of its topic, such as a giraffe, butterfly, weeping willow tree and the night sky. The poems are short but can be a bit of a challenge for young readers.

I would use Doodle Dandies as a mentor text for learning how to write concrete poems. It could also be used to introduce a science top such as winter, the night sky, flowers, and animals. It's vibrant colors and poems could also be used to inspire students to write. I would use the poem, "Halleys Comet" in connection with the informational book called, "Different Sun Stars-Space Science for Kids-Children's Astronomy Books by Pfiffikus during the first grade science unit of Space, Sun and Stars.



My favorite quote is, "In a field of sadness stands the wee widow weeping". I would ask students to create a concrete poem with a tree of their choice.

[Crystal Lockhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Doodle Dandies Poems that take Shape by K.Patrick Lewis. This book is for my poetry selection of my book log and was found in the textbook on page 241. This book is made of several different poems that are presented in the shape of the subject of the poem. There are poems about animals, objects, and fun things that would interest children.

The illustrations are fun and add to the enjoyment of the reader. Most of the pictures are backgrounds to the written words because the words are shaped to look like the subjects of the poems. This is fun because it helps the students understand the setting of the poem and may add to the student’s comprehension of the material.

I was not very impressed with this book. While I understand that the author was trying to accomplish with the way the poems are presented, I had a hard time following some of the poems. I felt some of the vocabulary was too hard for the grade level of the material and I do not believe I would use this in my classroom. However, I believe if it was used in a class it would be good for a poetry unit. It is a great example that not all poems have to look alike and to show students more creative ways to present poetry.

[Brittany Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture Book Log
Title: Doodle Dandies: Poems that take Shape
Author: J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrator: Lisa Desimini
Category: Poetry
Source: Text – pg. 241

I chose Doodle Dandies: Poems that take Shape for my poetry category, as I loved the idea of writing poems to take the shape of the topic. The short poems cover topics such as, a giraffe, an umbrella, a butterfly, winter, and a skyscraper. I believe it will intrigue the students with the text making out the topic of the poem, but there was some difficulty in knowing the order of the text. I would not use this whole book if I was incorporating it into a lesson but I do believe it has a few poems that are standouts.

My favorite poem in this book was Dachshund because it was easy to read the words and the words were written to form a perfect dachshund puppy. This is one of the poems that I would definitely want to show to my students. If I were showing this to an older group of students I could have them write their own poem in this same format. This would give the students plenty of room for creativity, as the options would be endless.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was a little turned off by the illustrations that came with the poems, but now I've decided that I like them. I just expected the poems to be the actual illustrations since this is a collection of concrete poems. Some are very great concrete poems that don't really depend on the background illustrations at all. After reading the entire book, I've decided that the illustrations just add more to the poem and could also help a lot with comprehension so I like them anyway!

I wouldn't read this book cover to cover. Like most collections, some poems are better than others. My favorites are "dachund," "giraffe," "weeping willow," "synchronized swim team," "winter," and "sky high". These all do concrete very well and they are stand alone good poems that would probably be just fine without all the fancy illustrations. A nice collection!

[Brittany Martz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great poetry book that uses the words to create an image. The words are arranged on the page so that they form a picture about the topic of the poem. Each poem takes up one or two pages to capture a picture. Some examples from the book include the poem Dachshund which turns the words of the poem into a Dachshund. Another example is Lashondra Scores! This poem shows a picture of a person shooting a basketball. As the ball soars through the air, the words are displayed with the ball until the ball gets in the whoop. I could see myself using this book in my classroom for many different purposes. I could read a couple of my favorite examples out of the poetry book such as giraffe, A Swing and a Miss, and weeping willow. From there, I could have my students write their own poetry and transform it into a picture by arranging the words to a topic in their poem. (Fiction/Poetry)

[Derek Slagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape is a single book length of poems that examine shape rhymes. This book is good to look at while looking at shape poems. These poems are really short but they allow readers to be become familiar to shape books. One poem that caught my attention was called "A Swing and a Miss" and this poem was about baseball and the different pitches that can be thrown. This interested me because it used baseballs to organize this poem. Also I am a baseball pitcher and it was fascinating to see one of my hobbies expressed on a poem. This can also be used to motivate that students while learning about poems.