Children's Book of the Day: "A Kick in the Head"

As the subtitle states, "A Kick in the Head" is "An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms." The book features poems selected by poet and teacher Paul B. Janeczko. The wild and wacky illustrations by Chris Raschka, done in watercolor, ink and torn paper, are a wonderful accompaniment to the poetry. The book features illustrated examples of 29 different poetic forms plus four pages of notes on the forms. Older children, teens, and adults will enjoy this book. Paul B. Janeczko and Chris Raschka also collaborated on A Poke in the I : A Collection of Concrete Poems. Concrete poems can be one-word poems or poems with a number of words, but in every case, the words are arranged into a particular shape that reflects the poem's meaning.