Dogku
posted in picture books, book review, children's literature |
From Frindle (1998) onward, I’ve been a fan of Andrew Clements’ realistic fiction. Now, instead of turning a pen into a frindle, he tackles the playfulness of language in a different way in his picture book Dogku.
Dogku uses one haiku per page (or per two-page spread), with each haiku connecting in some way to the next, in order to show us its a dog’s life, literally (the haiku is written largely from the dog’s perspective).
From the hungry dog’s arrival at the back steps of the home, haiku manifests his daily antics while also delving into his joys and uncertainties about his new home and human caretakers. For instance, will they accept him, and what will they call him?
“A dog needs a name./ Rags? Mutt? Pooch? No, not Rover./ Mooch. Yes, Mooch! Perfect.”
Fortunately, Tim Bowers has drawn an irresistible dog and the family decides that this poetic (albeit rambunctious) dog is here to stay. The reassuring haiku finale:
“A new doggy bed! / Food, a bowl, a squeaky toy! / Mooch has found his home!”
Clements harnesses language for his purposes once again–without ever straying from the 5-7-5 rhythm, the endearing Mooch finds himself a home. And Bowers’ high energy oil paintings display one of the cutest, most eager, most lovable and most desiring-to-be-loved “mutts” ever to narrate his own picture book (those big black eyes and nose just say love me…). Put words, pictures, and dog together, and the cumulative effect is to manifest the joys and diversions to be found in reading, writing, and listening to poetry (and in dog ownership).
Of course, there’s more to poetry than just haiku. For more resources to convince young people that poetry can indeed be fun, fun, fun, you can always try Shel Silverstein’s classics such as Where the Sidewalk Ends or A Light in the Attic. If you’re looking for more recent publications, try Paul B. Janeczko’s amusing works such as A Poke in the I (concrete poems) or A Kick in the Head (showcasing 29 poetic forms) or the ever-popular Douglas Florian’s eclectic works such as bow wow meow meow it’s rhyming cats and dogs (woof, enough said).
