Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
What's the Weather Inside?
Illustrator: Barry Blitt
Poetry
For ages 7 to 10
Simon and Schuster, 2009 ISBN: 978-1416900924
There are some people out there who think that “poems are stupid / and poetry’s a bore.” If you are such a person, then consider yourself challenged. Karma Wilson, the author of this collection of poems, dares you (she really does) to read this book. She knows that her poems will not make her readers “snore,” and she is quite right.
Karma Wilson begins with a poem about the weather inside, about what is going on inside your head in other words. Are you plagued with “a fog of doubt,” or perhaps “the thunder of despair?” If you feel that a “brainstorm” is in the offing, then “curl up and write a book.”
As you turn the pages, you will find out how Miss Muffet has her revenge, what your cat might be thinking, and the story of how one girl deals with a bad hair day. There is a poem about what one mother is like when she is “out of coffee,” and the story about Ned, who finds a treasure chest in an attic.
With humor, common sense, and an acute appreciation for the kinds of things that appeal to young readers, Karma Wilson has created this wonderful collection of one hundred and twenty poems. Readers of all ages will enjoy dipping into this book, knowing that they will always find something to engage their interest.
