Perfect Picture Book Friday/Science Verse

Yes I’m introducing another Jon Scieszka picture book. I was so happy to find it. And I have another for next week. Ahh, so good! As you know I’m never happier than reading picture books by Jon Scieszka. And this one is one from the famous team with Lane Smith.

Title: Science Verse

Written by: Jon Scieszka

Illustrated by: Lane Smith

Themes: Science, Poetry, Humor,

Published by: Viking, the Penguin Group, 2004, fiction

First two pages: “ON Wednesday in Science class, Mr. Newton says, “You know, if you listen closely enough, you can hear the poetry of science in everything.” I listen closely. On Thursday, I start hearing the poetry. In fact, I start hearing everything as a science poem. Mr. Newton has Zapped me with a curse of SCIENCE VERSE.” On the third page the poems start with: “Evolution-

Glory, glory, evolution.

 Darwin found us a solution.

 Your mama is that shape,

and your knuckles always scrape…

’Cause Grandpa was an ape.”

From the Jacket: HAVE you ever stopped to smell the roses? HAVE you ever paused to listen

Math Curse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

to the poetry of science in everything? HERE’s the story of one kid who did. TOO BAD FOR HIM. It turned everything into science poetry. Roses are red. Violets are blue. The science Verse curse Will drive you nuts too. ONLY the creators of MATH CURSE could make science

and poetry so much fun.

Why I love it: Yes, It’s Jon Scieszka’s humor but its famous poems from the likes of Longfellow and Edgar Allen Poe made into a science parody that really turn me on. The little ditty above is just a taste. Jon turns body parts into gory soup with a poem off of Lewis Carroll that is sure to please the most boyish boy teaming with testosterone. He plays with the poem of Hiawatha turning it into the cellular structure. It’s just so darn clever. The book can even turn the most unscholarly nonacedemic student into one who appreciates poems and science and even history. 

Resources: I found all kinds of lesson plans and guides. There was even a Wikipedia entry.

Scieszka Visit-9947 (Photo credit: Skokie Public Library)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Verse  But here is the first lesson plan: http://www.writingfix.com/Picture_Book_Prompts/ScienceVerse1.htm. For a whole pdf of things to do go here: http://www.state.lib.la.us/empowerlibrary/SCIENCE%20VERSE.pdf on how to write your own poems to web searches of science and poems used in “Science Verse”. Not advertised elsewhere I found out the book won the ALA Notable Children’s Book Award 2005 and the Parent’s Choice Award Gold 2004 Non-Fiction. 

For more books with resources please visit Perfect Picture Books at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog. And if you’d like to be whisked away through cyber space to the resource page and the list of more marvelous recommended perfect picture books just click on the perfect picture book badge on the right.

 

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