Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Singer, Marilyn. 2011. Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom. Illustrated by Lee Widdish. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 9780375867101.

BOOK REVIEW
"Do animals celebrate Valentine's Day?" is the question that one will find on the jacket cover flap. It continues on to say no one knows for sure. However, thanks to children's poet extraordinaire Marilyn Singer's creative little poems found in this book you would be come a firm believer that animals do celebrate love and companionship in their own world. In rhyming couplets, these poems are full of love, humor and puns that will make readers of all ages laugh and giggle. Ranging from household pets (dogs and cats) to wild animals found in your backyard to ones found in Africa (elephants) and to animals found in the sky and in the ocean, there is an poem for each animal lover. Some poems are quite easy to understand, "A sunny day. It's perfect weather / to go outside - and nap together" (Cats), while other poems can make a reader think and can be educational at the same time, "You and I could be a team, / if we agree on a color scheme" (Chameleons) and "I'm finding a leaf. You're taking a bite. / Wait a few weeks and our hearts will take flight." (Caterpillars). Lee Widdish's illustrations compliment the adorableness of the books theme. On each page, a poem has a vignette style picture. The overall presentation for Twosomes is a sweet little package, especially with the book being a small book that is perfect for little hands to hold. A must-have book for any poetry collection.


CONNECTIONS

• Share this book in class or storytime for Valentine's Day or if you're celebrating animals.
• When learning about animals, read the poems that may require a little more brain power (chameleons and caterpillars) and then explore info about each animal from nonfiction books. For example, after sharing the caterpillar poem, discuss its life cycle from being a caterpillar that goes into a cocoon that becomes a butterfly. You could even then read The Very Hungry Caterpillar!
• If your studying poetry, after sharing some poems, have the children create their own two-liners about the animal of their choice.

Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2012-2013!

This weekend (Oct. 22-23) in Austin was the Texas Book Festival! I had the great fun to explore the fest on Sunday, and got my hot little hands on the just announce master list of the Texas Bluebonnet Award list! I must say, that I recognize only a couple titles from the list, which means that I have some reading and review perusing in my future!

Here is the list of new books that will be voted on! Do you recognize any?

• Arnosky, Jim. 2011. Thunder Birds, Nature's Flying Predators. New York: Sterling.

• Cardillo, Margaret. 2011. Just Being Audrey. Illustrated by Julia Denos. New York: Balzer & Bray

• Deedy, Carmen Agra and Randall Wright. 2011. The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale. Illustrated by Barry Moser. Atlanta: Peachtree.

• Durango, Julia. 2010. Under the Mambo Moon. Illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

• Fleming, Candace. 2010. Clever Jack Takes the Cake. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

• Hatke, Ben. 2010. Zita the Spacegirl. New York: First Second.

• Jonell, Lynne. 2010. Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates. Illustrated by Greg Call. New York: Amulet Books.

• Lupica, Mike. 2010. Hero. New York: Philomel Books.

• McElligott, Matthew and Larry Tuxbury. 2010. Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! Illustrated by Matthew McElligott. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

• Ramsey, Calvin A. 2010. Ruth and the Green Book. Illustrated y Floyd Cooper. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.

• Selznick, Brian. 2011. Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic Press. (Is anyone surprised to see Brian's book on the list? I'm not!)

• Smith, Clete Barrett. 2011. Aliens on Vacation. Illustrated by Christian Slade. New York: Disney Hyperion Books.

• Sternberg, Julie. 2011. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. New York: Amulet Books.

• Swaim, Jessica. 2010. Hot Diggity Dog: The History of the Hot Dog. Illustrated by Elwood H. Smith. New York: Dutton Children's Books.

• Taback, Simms. 2011. Postcards from Camp. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.

• Warner, Sally. 2011. EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken. Illustrated y Jamie Harper. New York: Viking.

• Weinstein, Muriel Harris. 2010. Play, Louis, Play: The True Story of a Boy and His Horn. Illustrated by Frank Morrison. New York: Bloomsbury.

• Yohalem, Eve. 2009. Escape Under the Forever Sky. San Fransisco: Chronicle.