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Thursday, October 3, 2024

Poetry Friday - No Pancakes! It's "Wild Brunch"

 It's Poetry Friday, and Tabatha Yeatts-Lonske is hosting HERE on her blog The Opposite of Indifference.    Thanks for hosting, Tabatha, and for bringing us so lovely a poem about murmuration and more!


          I first met David L. Harrison in 1983 when I took my daughter to a book signing, and she wanted his new book, A Book of Giant Stories. I remember he was so kind to her and signed it in a special way. Back then, I didn't really know David's poetry power, but when Highlights offered a week of poetry writing with him, I went! And, then, I went the next year, too. Being at Highlights with David was so much fun, as were the ones with Rebecca Dotlich and Georgia Heard. I took the book back that second time, and he signed it then for Sarah's daughters, Ingrid and Imogene! I guess they'd better keep it for their daughters! 
        


          If you want to know more about David, you can see his extraordinary bio by googling his name on line and choosing among the many sites about him. He is now the Poet Laureate of Missouri and of Drury University, from which he has a science degree. He knows a lot about science, and you'll understand that when you see his titles that show off his knowledge. 
         I'm excited to share David's latest title today, showing off a few animals, what and how they eat!  Thanks to Charlesbridge Publishing for my copy!


           Various animals munch through the pages with David's usual humor shining through. There are piranhas where advice is warranted: "When piranha's on the hunt,/you're wise if you retreat." And, much larger, but also in the water, the hippo eats at night. Did you know? They have "teeth like spikes" and in the wisest, but funniest, of an underlying meaning, David writes, "No one ever called/a hippo sweet." The poem shows the warning of just how very fast those un-sweet beasts can run!    
           When he writes about aardvarks, the poem ends with "No matter/how you try to hide–/you can't."  A favorite reminds me of a memory I have. This poem shares all the things a seagull eats: "Darting fish,/leaping shrimp, bugs snatched in flight," and ending with "food from stashes/shaded by beach umbrellas." Once, I sat with a friend on the beach but under an overhang, about to take a bit of my sandwich when SWOOP, a seagull came flying through and grabbed it! As the poem says, "few with feathers/find more ways,/ to fill their bill."
            You can find and enjoy poems about jellyfish, narwhals, houseflies, and more, even one animal that does not eat in David's new book of poetry. Giles Laroche fills the double-page spreads with luscious illustrations, where the cover says he creates with as many as eight layers, "drawing, cutting, painting, gluing". Each one takes me into that animal's world!
            Added at the back are three different sections: "Swimming Eaters," "Land-based Eaters," and "Flying Eaters," which offer more information about each animal. There is also a bibliography for further reading. 

            Two companion books by this author/illustrator pair have come out in earlier years, also offering beautifully written and illustrated poems. Their covers are below!


 

         Reading and seeing David's, and this time, Giles', poetry books is always a joy. I'm happy to share this one with you, hoping you find time to get the book and enjoy every page and poem yourself. 

16 comments:

  1. How fun! You had me at "munching through the pages" David's poetry is wonderful for kids...and the adults who read to and with them. I love that he has a degree in science. Somehow, I didn't know that about him. But, it makes perfect sense. Your review is good! I will request this book for my public library today.

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  2. Thank you for the reminder of David's amazing poetry. I have "A Place to Start a Family" downstairs and will be looking it up today. What a lovely review! Thanks for sharing. Have a great day! Cathy

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  3. Looks so good! Thanks for the introduction, Linda.

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  4. Thanks so much for this wonderful review of David's new book. Sounds fun and fascinating!! Also enjoyed your story about having your lunch snatched away by a gull. Cool that he signed books for your daughter and granddaughters! :)

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  5. Wow! Linda -- what a gift to have the same book signed so many years apart! How beautiful that you could connect your kids and their kids to Harrison's wonderful words.

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  6. Linda, I just checked out After Dark by Harrison on Libby and have enjoyed some of his animal poems on this Poetry Friday. What a treasure the Giant Stories book is for Sarah and her family! That's a lovely keepsake. Thanks for introducing me to this new poet and his new publication.

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  7. Wonderful post for wonderful books by a wonderful author!

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  8. Thanks everyone! I've been gone this am, doing more bookstore work, but I am so glad to see you here, learning about Wild Brunch!

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  9. Oh I haven't read Wild Brunch yet. Just added it to my list!

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  10. Wild Bunch seems like a book I want to read! Thank you.

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  11. Linda, thank you for your review of "Wild Bunch". David is a wonderful poet. Your beach story of a seagull snatchng food is exactly what happened this summer to my daughter. Seagulls are very quick animals that lurk around a family who have food at the beach. We were all shocked.

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  12. Thanks, Marcie, Rose, & Carol, I hope you enjoy this new one by David. That's fun to read, Carol. They are sneaky (& fast!).

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  13. Wild Brunch looks wonderful, Linda! Thank you! How special that he signed your Giant Stories book twice.

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    1. Thanks, Karen, it has become a family keepsake!

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  14. Thanks for this glimpse into David's new poetry project! He is truly amazing, and I look forward to reading this one. I have a seagull story too. Well, growing up in Florida, I have lots of seagull stories 😅 But the one we still laugh about is when Randy and I were at Busch Gardens on our honeymoon. We had done the Anheuser-Busch tour of the brewery or whatever, and Randy had gotten German food, which I am not a big fan of. I bought a lovely big slice of pepperoni pizza once we were back outside and I don't think I had even taken a bite before a giant seagull swooped down grabbed the pizza off my paper plate, and landed about 10 yd away. It was too heavy for him to carry. He and all his friends had a delicious picnic at my expense. Maybe I will turn that into a poem one day!

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    1. Oh, my, a whole piece! Those gulls have gall! : ) Thanks for telling your story, Laura. I imagine since you lived there that you do have many!

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