Book Review: Summersaults

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 2002. SUMMERSAULTS. Hong Kong: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0060292679

2. SUMMARY
In this topical book of poems, Florian Douglas uses a variety of poetic styles to write dozens of short, humorous poems about different aspects of summertime. All of the poems employ rhyme, but the rhythms vary widely. He talks about what he likes about summer on one page, and foils that with what he doesn't like on the next page. He talks about summer activities like swimming, double dutch, and baseball. He celebrates the good and bad of summer creatures like bees and fireflies and assigns the season the color green. At the end, he encourages the reader to pack an "ocean spray" and save the memories of summer to help get through the winter.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
One of the most successful things that Douglas does in this book is his use of concrete poetry. The way that the words on the page are arranged in a way that reflects part of their meaning is a great way to help kids understand and enjoy the fun of poetry. The way he arranged the poem "Double Dutch Girls" makes the readers eye go from side to side, mimicking the way it feels to watch two double dutch ropes fly in circles. The poem "Fireflies" causes the readers eye to dart all around the page in a way that feels very similar to the experience of spotting fireflies as they appear and then disappear in the dark. The humor in this book is very well done and makes the poetry all the more appealing to its target audience.

Douglas also does a nice job with the illustrations in this book. The fact that they look as if a talented child drew them lends itself to the overall feeling of the book being one of jovial innocence. He even uses media that are common for school children to use: water color paint and colored pencils. The bright colors add to the summery feel of the book.

4. BOOK REVIEW EXCERPTS
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "overflows with inventive verses celebrating the delights and discontents of summer"
BOOKLIST "a few poems are forgettable"
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL "language is simple enough for bridge-book-ready children"

5. CONNECTIONS
* Gather other books about Summer
* Have children illustrate their own favorite as well as least favorite things about Summer. Older students can write short, accompanying poems
* Have children brainstorm together what they think the "Sum of Summer" is and post their answers where everyone can enjoy