POETRY PICTURE BOOK - Dear Hot Dog - Mordicai Gerstein

Illustrated by the author

2011, Abrams Books for Young Readers

HC $16.95

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.49

My rating: 4

Endpapers: Bright, sunny yellow

Title Page:  Across the two pages the little girl is waking up as the sign rises behind her prone figure.

Illustrations: Acrylics on paper.

Toothbrush

All night

dozing in your holder

you wait for me.

I give you toothpaste

for breakfast,

mint,

your favorite flavor.

Then you go to work

in the foamy, pink

cave of my mouth,

scouring and scrubbing,

gargling your little song;

shreds of carrot,

pebbles of peanut,

cracker crumbs

hiding in cracks

---all washed away.

I rinse you off, and

back in your holder

you sigh and dry.

As my day begins,

you go back

to sleep.

Socks

I never stop
to think about socks,
and if I get them
for a birthday present
from Aunt Adi,
I'm disappointed.
You can't play
with socks.
But now,
with wind rattling
the icy windows,
putting on these
soft, thick, red ones
makes me happy
all day.

Ice-Cream Cone

I hold you high against the sky

like Liberty's torch,

a snow-topped,

milky mountain,

while rivers

of vanilla slide

over my fingers

and down my sleeve.

I turn you and lick you,

and with every lick

there's less of you.

Come back!

I see you hiding

deep in the cone.  

I bit off its 

bottom tip

and the very las of you

dribbles into my mouth.

I give the cone

to my little brother.

He likes them.

I don't.

My comments:  Great poems, from the point-of-view of three different boys during the day.Toothbrush, Pants, Toes (! !) Socks, Shoes, Cup, Bowl, Kite, Air, Water, Summer Sun, Hot Dog, Ice-Cream Cone, Leaves, Rain, Books, Crayons, Scissors, Spaghetti, Bear, Light, and Pillow!  Great poems!

Goodreads:  Whether it’s slurping up spaghetti or catching some sun at the beach, the everyday wonders celebrated in this collection of poems will appeal to young readers.
          Cleverly crafted by Mordicai Gerstein, Dear Hot Dog follows three friends from the time they wake up and brush their teeth to when they snuggle up for bed with their favorite stuffed animal. In between playing outside, making crafts, eating their favorite treats, and reading, together they delight in the adventure and magic that each day brings. Gerstein’s vibrant illustrations and lighthearted verse make Dear Hot Dog a great introduction to poetry for young readers

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Water Hole Waiting - Jane Kurtz & Christopher Kurtz

Illustrated by Lee Christiansen
Greenwillow Books, 2002
$15.95 then, $17.99 now
32 pages
For: pre K - 4th grade
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Yellow

Lots and lots and even more lots to say about his book. The story, the writing, the illustrations, are all wonderful. There is only one teeny-tiny weakness for me, and I bet if I read it a fourth and fifth time that won't appear a weakness anymore. More on that in a minute.

The story: Monkeys (apparently they are vervet monkeys) wait at a water hole as many animals who live with them in the East African savannah approach for their own drinks. We see hippos, zebras, a crocodile, a lion, elephants, and even a giraffe take their turns soothing their thirst.

Figurative language: Wow. Lots. And lots. And lots more:
Personification:
"morning slinks onto the savannah"
"the silence pokes monkey's ear"
"the sun cartwheels slowly up the sky"
"sun climbs the sky like an acrobat" (throw in a simile!)
"sun bristles, bright and round"
"sun somersaults down the sky"
"evening slinks across the savannah"
"evening sighs"

Alliteration here and there:
"heat sizzles the savannah, heavy on the monkey fur."

Metaphor:
talking about a crocodile: "the log sinks back and waits"

Snazzy words, including great verbs:
slinks, plops, grunts, foraging, nibble, prance, parched, splay...

The illustrations: Lovely. Just lovely. We are taken to the savannah. There's no white at all, just lovely scenery completely covering the page. Love it.

My only negative view: the rhyming here and there is a bit to haphazard for me. Almost like it's thrown in, and in places forced into rhyming when it's not really a rhyme. Oh well. The rest of the book certainly makes up for it. Give me more of these Kurtz siblings and Mr. Christiansen's artwork!