Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems by Heidi B. Roemer, Illustrated by Hideko Takahashi

Some books just put you in a bright, happy mood, and this is one of those books. With very colorful pictures and very imaginative poems, Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems can take the reader to their "happy place." There are a lot of poems out there about the seasons, and yes, this book is one of them. Divided into the four seasons, each season has approximately 8-10 poems associated with it. What makes these poems unique though is that these poems have extra pizazz because they're shape poems. Also known as concrete poems, these poems incorporate a shape and mold the words of the poem into or around that particular shape. Here's a quick list of some of the seasonal shapes incorproated into the poems in this book:
Spring: a jumprope, a ladybug, birds' beaks, a kite, a birthday hat
Summer: ocean waves, a watermelon, the American flag, a tent
Fall: a spider's web, pumpkins, a wishbone, a piece of pumpkin pie
Winter: a sledding hill, mittens, a Christmas tree, an igloo, icicles

Not only are the words of the poem in the shape of the object, but the words are often in the color of the object. One of my favorite examples of this was Watermelon. In the shape of a watermelon, a majority of the letters are red, but a few letters are black, showing the watermelon seeds. The green rind of the watermelon is also shown. The final line of this poem reads, "And when I'm done, I pucker my lips; I'm ready! I aim and I... spit. The word spit is written in black as though it's a watermelon seed, and it's separated from the rest of the poem (because it has been spit out). In another poem, Marshmallow Treat, the poem uses three marshmallow roasters over a fire to to shape the poem. One line of the poem is written followed by the repetition of a word three times. For example, "Spear a 'mallow, spongy sweet; fun, fun, fun." The first part of that sentence is written in black to show the marshmallow roaster. Fun, fun, fun is written in white to show the actual marshmallow. I could go on and on with examples because the possibilities are endless. For this book in particular, I feel as though the illustrator has the harder job because the essence of shape poems comes from the picture while the words support the picture.

There are so many fun things to do with shape poems. I feel like kids would get a kick out of making their own shape poem because they can use their imagination and create a poem centered around an object they love or enjoy. Any ordinary object works, and the more creative students are the better. Also, this activity amay make poetry seem less intimidating for students when they are using a drawing as the basis of their poem. This book contains plenty of examples for students to see the possibilities for a shape poem. If a student gets inspired, perhaps they can come up with their own theme (sports or holidays for example) and make a whole collection of shape poems. Metaphors and similes could also be introduced while teaching shape poems. As another idea, shape poems could be used early in the school year as an introductory activity. After reading this book or showing students example of shape poems, students can write, illustrate, and decorate their own shape poem that represents something about them-an interest, a hobby, a fun fact, etc. Shape poems are ideal so kids can learn to have fun with words! Enjoy!