DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST and Other Poems from the Water Hole, by Irene Latham,
illustrated by Anna Wadham, Millbrook Press, 2014
Day begins. Illustrator Wadham wakes up the book, the
reader, and an assortment of animals with the warm colors of morning. It’s a
time to meet, greet and gather the news of the day.
Poet Latham, in the first of 15 engaging poems, extends an
invitation: “To all the beasts who enter here.”
While the illustrator uses backgrounds to advance the day,
the writer plays with a variety of poetic devices to bring each animal to life
as it meets daily needs for food, shelter, and safety.
Pacing is prime when author Latham describes the impala, the
picture of grace. The meerkat is bright eyed and disciplined and so are its
stanzas. A snake slithers across the painted page while letters drape and
sounds delight.
A change of pace allows a break for a commercial, an ad for the efficient cleaning service
run by the enterprising oxpeckers. “Oxpecker Cleaning Service.” Clean is guaranteed!
When day comes to a close, it’s time for a bath. Be
careful how you handle “Dust bath at dusk” if you decide to read this poem to
an imaginative child. You might have to explain why a dust bath is not an
option for a non-elephant, a.k.a. the child in your lap.
“What Rhino Knows” is about your typical loner. You may have
one in your family, the one your mother’s sisters are always trying to marry off. Rhinos are not friendly to other rhinos. If one crowds another at the watering hole, the protestor could charge, kick up dust,
or, worst of all, simply ignore the other. But, between rhinos, being ignored
may not matter.
Second and third grade readers will lap up the fact filled sections. Call these blocks of sprightly text another type of watering hole. A glossary and other books add breadth to knowledge.
Irene Latham has written 3 collections
of poetry for grown-ups and two novels for kids, Leaving Gee’s Bend and Don’t
Feed the Boy.
Illustrator Anna
Wadham lives in England in a flat with a rooftop view.
While you read Dear
Wandering Wildebeest dozens of times to your eager little listener, recall the
office water cooler. Which co-worker is which animal? Which animal are
you?
Young readers will lap up this colorful, wild, poetic romp. I'm delighted to see it's being so well received this fall. Thanks for sharing "our own" Irene, Joan - from a big fan of you BOTH.
ReplyDeleteWhich animal are you, Robyn?
DeleteI'll miss you at WIK this year.
Hugs from a huge fan of yours!
I will miss you all too! Which animal? Hmmm ... I tend to shape-shift depending on whether I've had my coffee - and chocolate... ;0)
DeleteJoan! Thank you so much for this thoughtful look at WILDEBEEST! And how fun to think of folks in terms of animals visiting the water cooler. :) I think I relate most to the LIoness in the book... and perhaps the bush willow tree! :)
ReplyDeleteDear Irene, the Lioness: On great reflection, I identify most with the title character, having been known to travel great distances (around the house), stampeding when necessary, in search of chocolate.
DeleteOh, this sounds like such a delightful book, Joan, I'm going to reserve it at my library right now! And P.S. It's been a while since I've been around the old office water cooler, but I have to go with meerkat. I was the one always head down, working at my desk--and then popping up every time someone passed by! :-)
ReplyDeleteI thought about meerkat, too, Cathy. Then I thought about chocolate. :)
Delete