Pizza, Pigs, And Poetry: How To Write A Poem (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
Pizza, Pigs and Poetry: How to Write a Poem was a very enjoyable and informative book by Children's Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky. This very famous children's poet has writen thousands of poems about all sorts of topics. He is very well known and loved by millions. In this book, Prelutsky highlights several of his famous poems and also guides readers with writing tips and stories about how his poems came to be.I greatly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it highly to children and teachers in grades 2-5. Prelutsky offers hints on how to come up with ideas for your poetry, how to turn your experiences and stories into great poems and the importance of always caring a notebook around to jot down ideas.Pizza, Pigs and Poetry: How to Write a Poem would be a great mentor text for a poetry unit! I really appreciated his stories, tips and examples of his poems as well as the glossary of poetic words that he included at the back of the book. This easy to read informational book is written by one of the most humorous children's poets I have ever read. This book is full of stories, poems, and advice, all related to poetry. In each chapter the author begins by telling a short story about something from his own life and how it was the inspiration for one of his poems. He then follows the story by giving the poem which came about as a result. Finally, he concludes each chapter with advice about how you can take what he has just shown and explained and apply it to your own writing.When I originally picked this book up I had nothing more in mind than to be able to fill in one of the blanks on my 30 books list for an informational book. As I read, I found myself actually paying attention to the things he related as well as the advice he gave. As I did so I found myself thinking back over my own life and taking stock of experiences I had and how I might some day be able to turn them into published pieces. I'm not sure that they'll become poems, in fact I'm not sure if they'll ever even get written, but I can certainly begin by putting them in my writer's notebook for future consideration. This is one book that I think I'll need to reread, maybe more than once.This book reminds me of another book I read with a similar theme, titled Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine. These two books, both written by children's authors, are, in my opinion, excellent reference books for aspiring authors looking for practical advice on how to work through the writer's craft. Although targeted to middle school students, adults can also take what is written here and use it to develop their skills. Far from being a boring read, I quite enjoyed the time spent. Next time I'll have to take it much more slowly, pausing after each chapter to try implementing some of the skills suggested.
What do You think about Pizza, Pigs, And Poetry: How To Write A Poem (2008)?
An excellent classroom book or lesson text, because it makes poetry fun and teaches about form.
—zuza123
Funny Prelutsky...Love the way he described his mother's singing.
—Bubblestarlet
Great book to read to students. Humorous way to teach poetry
—dalton
