Sidman,
Joyce. 2006. Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry. Ill.
by Michelle Berg. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. ISBN 9780618448944
(Image
obtained from amazon.com)
Summary
Meow Ruff: A Story in
Concrete Poetry tells the story of an
adventurous friendship between a dog and an abandoned cat. Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry is intended
for children in grades K-3.
Quality and Appeal
Meow Ruff: A Story in
Concrete Poetry (as the title conveys)
is entirely written in through concrete poetic form. Concrete
poetry, also known as a shape poetry, refers to poems which are arranged in a
manner that visually depicts shapes often related in subject matter to the
poems.
In all honesty, I hated this book.
The content was difficult to follow as the concrete poems do not follow
normal reading patterns (for example, left to right, top to bottom). Often times, I would read a stanza after
another as I tried to navigate the page but there was no connection and this
only created a disjointed reading experience where I eventually almost felt
nauseous. I had to read and reread
several times before I could even grasp the content in one poem, and then I
would have to begin my journey over to understand the entire page. Consider this: I have been reading for 20+ years, how will
beginning readers fare?
Perhaps, if each element on the page was singled out, the imagery and
detail is actually quite interesting.
However, with so much going on, the confusion outweighs and interest in
delving deeper. The saddest element is
the illustration. While beautiful and
cute, the illustrations only complicate the process as words are camouflaged
due to poor contrast.
Awards and/or Mentions
Won Minnesota Book Award in 2007
Spotlight Poem
(Poem written in the
shape of a cloud)
Plump
Bright Dome
Of Sugar White
Sky-Muffin
This poem could be
used to introduce adjectives for younger readers. Children can be invited to construct poems
about everyday items with single words.
Books like Meow Ruff:
A Story in Concrete Poetry
A Poem as Big as New York City: Little Kids Write About the Big
Apple by Masha D-yans
Rainbow Soup: Adventures in Poetry by Brian P. Cleary
A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems by Paul B. Janeczko
