Picture Book 11

Title: April Bubbles Chocolate
Illustrator:Barry Root
Genre:Picture Book
Sub Genre: Poetry
Theme: Poetry doesn't always have to rhyme. Sometimes it can just be for fun.
Primary and Secondary Characters: None
Award(s) date of publication:1994
Publishing Company:Simon and Schuster
Brief Summary:This book is a compilation of poems written by students and some anonymous authors. It follows the alphabet. So for each letter of the alphabet, there is a poem. For example, the first poem is titled "April." The student that wrote about this describes what it is is like. She describes green grass and the fact that her rain boots will be needed do to the rain. It's a really cute book. Every poem is different. "Bubbles" is another cute poem. In this, the student describes the life of a bubble. He says, the bubble was lucky to have held a rainbow in it for 30 seconds. All of the poems are so cute and well-written. I really enjoyed reading this.
Used in the Classroom: I could see this book being very useful in upper level classes. I think 5th graders would really enjoy this book. There are a variety of poems in the book. I think every student will find one that he or she really enjoys. I think it's a great example of poetry and would greatly help students understand what poetry is and in what ways they can use it. Some of the poems are serious and some are funny or goofy. I think that students will find a freedom in writing after being inspired by this book. Writing poetry is about expression, and this book does a great job of expressing and displaying that. In addition, it would be a great book for teachers to read. They can get ideas of ways to incorporate the use of poetry not just for writing subjects but for other topic areas as well.