You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

Hoberman, Mary Ann. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together. ill. Michael Emberly. Little Brown and Company, 2005. ISBN 0-316-14431-2

Mary Ann Hoberman takes a new look into Mother Goose Rhymes with her third read-together/aloud book. All of the poems in this book are meant to be read aloud and shared amongst a group. The poetry is color-coded and very clear. In addition, the rhyme, meter, and and meaning of the poems is clear and simple. The illustrations are all colorful and relevant to the poems. Hoberman reworks the traditional Mother Goose rhymes and makes them fun. Essentially, the poems are like looking into the lives and feelings of the characters during what we would see as the traditional part. She also delves into their lives after the traditional Mother Goose occurences. For example, Jack Sprat and his wife, after discussing how he eats no fat and she's huge, talk about how the doctor recommends they try new diets so she gets flatter and he gets rounder. Another example is how Old Mother Hubbard orders in food after discovering her cupboard is bare. This book is a fun way to give the 'old classics' a new twist for poetry readers young and old!

I can see myself using this book in several different ways. The first would be for the younger students such as Kindergarten and first grade. We would talk about the nursery rhymes in the traditional sense and recite a few of the favorites. Afterwards, I would introduce the poem in the book and we would read in a Round-Robin fashion. We would then compare their traditional rhymes with the rhymes in the book and discuss them.

The second way I would use this book would be in collaboration with an English lesson for older students 4-6th grades. The teacher, before coming to the library, will have taught a few basic poetry techniques such as aliteration, rhyme, and repetition. Then, as a class, we would read a few poems Round-Robin style or as the teacher and I doing the two voices. After each poem, we would see if the students could identify some of the literary techniques previously taught. Here is an excerpt of a poem that I would use to demonstrate literary techniques.

"Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater"

I am Peter.

I'm his wife.

I've liked pumpkins

All my life.

Pumpkins cooked

And pumpkins raw.

They were all I ever saw.

Pupkins raw

And pumpkins cooked,

Pumpkins

Everywhere I looked.

Pumpkins night

And pumpkins day,

...