SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

April 18, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS

MG Book Review: Outside the Box: A Book of Poems by Karma Wilson

April 18, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS   Leave a Comment

When you think outside the box . . .

Poems about Pigasus appear!
Not to mention
Horaceoptamus,
Gargantauns,
and all sorts of
monkey business.

You can snack on Greekwiches,
build a pet robot, then
dance with the Boogie Man.

Fly the largest kite,
sleight down the
steepest hill, and find
all those aliens
under your bed!

Anything can happen
outside the box.

Now won’t you join
us for a read?
– from the inside jacket copy

April is National Poetry Month and this book of poetry magically appeared at my door. I quickly read through it and gave it to the Tween to read and we both give it a thumbs up.  These are fun poems, much in the vein of Shel Silverstein. In fact, the cover and drawings inside are very reminiscent of Shel Silverstein.

There is a fun poem inside called My Pet Robot (page 18) which you could use to introduce a Robot Makerspace craft for either this year’s science themed summer reading program or even Earth Day. Simply gather together a wide variety of recyclables and have tweens create a robot. Or have a tech day where they take apart old, discarded technology and use the innards and pieces to make a robot. Not functional robots, just robot looking crafts.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

There are some fun poems about songs and music, including Stuck in My Head (page 24), Garage Band (page 26), and Shower Songs (page 28) that would be fun to include in a music themed program.

There is a section of “scary” themed poems that would be great for Halloween time.

There is a great poem called A Lump of Clay that is all about how you can take this lump of clay and make it in to something. It would be a fun way to just have a Makerspace/Craft day using clay. You can buy air dry clay which eliminates the need for baking.

The poems are quick reads, fast and fun. The Tween laughed a lot while reading the book. She has a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends which she keeps by her bed and I think this book is joining it. Definitely recommended.

Outside the Box: A Book of Poems. Poems by Karma Wilson. Drawings by Diane Goode.  Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014.  Ages 7-10. ISBN: 978-1-4169-8005-6.

Filed under: Book Reviews, Diane Goode, Karma Wilson, Out of the Box, Poetry

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

May 2014

Take 5: 5 Books Coming Soon That YOU MUST READ

by Karen Jensen, MLS

January 2013

Book Review: October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2023

Book Review: All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2023

Book Review: The A&A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair by K. H. Saxton

by Karen Jensen, MLS

September 2023

Book Review: Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford, Jeffery Boston Weatherford (Illustrator)

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Coming Soon(ish): The Wild Robot Animated Film

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Interview with Jorge Cham: Now With a Bonus Comic!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Exclusive: New Sibling Adventure Story from Papercutz | News and Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Debating Decades: Cast your votes in our survey of the best Newbery (and non-Newbery) books of the 2010s

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Peter Brown Visits The Yarn to talk about The Wild Robot Protects

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Books in Verse: These middle grade works speak to the heart through lyrical language | Great Books

Three Middle Grade Titles Featuring Divorced and Separated Parents

Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books

"Period Power": 11 YA and Middle Grade Titles That Destigmatize Menstruation

Making 'The Outsiders' Immersive: Books, Movies, and Other Media to Enliven the Hinton Classic | Refreshing the Canon

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023