Button Up is a collection of poems by Alice Scherlte and pictures by Petra Mathers. It is a cute book that has poems about the clothes in a closet and how they can have a life of their own. It talks about shoelaces, a hat, galoshes, undies, a helmet, shoes, jammies, an old t-shirt, a swimsuit, a jersey, dress up clothes, sweaters, costumes, a sweatshirt and a jacket. Each clothing item has a different animal wearing the item and a specific illustration that clearly shows the subject of the poem. The poems are short and the rhyming can be easily recognized. I would love to use this book in Pre-K and early elementary grade levels. The wording is simple and students can not only understand the poem but relate to the various poems. I would love to use this book during morning meeting and read one poem every day because it is about clothes, something that kids can relate to, and it would be a great way to get kids involved every morning. I would love to use this book to incorporate diversity to show how kids are all different by the way that they are dressed. I would also love to use this book in writing and have kids write their own poems and stories about the clothes that they wear. Because of the rhyming, this book can be used in reading when learning syllables and basic phonics because the words are easy to understand but really help language develop. This book could also be used to transition to math because students can count the number of jackets, shoes, pants or socks that are in the classroom. Many, many things could be done with this book.It is funny, interesting and developmentally appropriate. I will definitely have this book in my classroom and use it with my students throughout the year. This is a good resource for teaching poetry because the poems are simple enough for a kid to memorize and recite with expression, and the voice is perfect for young readers. I would also use it for teaching parts of language for 2nd - 4th grade:- Rhyme schemes + stanzas- Adjectives/descriptive language- Onomatopoeia ("The Song of Harvey's Galoshes")- Personification ("Violet's Viking Hat")
What do You think about Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes (2009)?
