Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis

Bibliography

Lewis, J. Patrick. Please Bury Me in the Library. Ill. by Kyle M. Stone. Orlando, Fla.: Gulliver Books/Harcourt, 2005.

ISBN 0152163875

Plot Summary

          Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Kyle H. Stone is a book of poems whose author even uses his title to engage his readers in rhyme and rhythm about books and words.  He proceeds to further deepen their involvement with 16 poems which vary widely in form and word play.  From “Three Haiku” whose first two take some sophistication to comprehend to the visual appeal of “Eating Alphabet Soup” with “fun-loving Vowels/May want tiny towels/To dry themselves off on the spoon,” a limerick designed to delight, Lewis provides verbal twists and turns which evoke his acknowledged poetry mentors but with J. Patrick Lewis flair.  Join him in the library and you will see just how zany a poem can be!

Critical Analysis

A must to read aloud, Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Kyle M. Stone is an individual poet compilation focused on making words, books and reading an enjoyable experience.  It has appeal to younger (3-5) readers/listeners with its pronounced rhymes and rhythms.  The lines in “Great, Good, Bad” about a bad book owing “to many trees/A forest of apologies” is a line which begs to rock and rhyme.  There is an appeal to older ones with its varied forms and word plays.  An “Ottobiography” written by a flea named Otto lets the reader draw on previous knowledge to get the word play in the familiar abccb rhyme scheme.  Some poems are just plain fun, such as “Eating Alphabet Soup with its anthropomorphic letters, and some are more sober in which a book has a personality, “a spine, a heart, a soul.  But even at that, there’s word play with “spine.” 

          That some of the 15 poems are tinged with the macabre is heightened by Stone’s illustrations.  The darkness falls somewhat with a lamb’s staring eyes, the rather messy, dark book shelves with a large black hole next to a lone candle which spreads over the two pages of the title poem, and the audience figures for “The Big-Word Girl.”  However, hearing the rhyme and rhythms of their accompanying verse lets laughter edge out the darkness. 

          Lewis’ kind acknowledgement of the poets who have influenced his writing in the form of the 16^th poem whets the appetite for more.  If Lewis’ verse attracts his readers, his mentors are a must read, too.  Lewis has accomplished more than a compilation of his work; he has opened a door to a world of more!

Review Excerpt(s)
Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award 2006-2007

Recognition: Children’s Catalogue, Best Books, Nineteenth Edition, 2006

Core Collection: Laugh Along Poetry for the Young, 2006

Kirkus Book Review Starts 2005

“this offering from the prolific Lewis won't stay buried long, no matter where it's planted” – KIRKUS REVIEWS

“This homage to reading salutes all the essential elements: letters, words, books. Lewis' poetry is continually clever, whether pithily summing up children's classics (a book that is excitedly read by a kid of 6 to another kid of 63) or capturing the thrill of reading in the dark.” – BOOKLIST

Connections

·        If you could chose to be in a room full of something, what would it be?  For example, stuffed animals, cookies, or kittens.  Write a poem using the rhyme abccb.

·        Discuss how people can influence another person.  Center the discussion on one of Lewis’ mentors with whom most of the students are unfamiliar.  Teach the expression, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”