I love discovering new forms of poetry (like the fabulous reverso in Mirror Mirror A Book of Reversible Verse. I had never heard of sijo (a Korean form of poetry) and I am very glad to have discovered it. The form is a bit like haiku in that it is three lines long and has a syllabic structure. The little twist is how the poem builds - the first line introduces the topic, the second line develops the topic and the third line offers some kind of twist. I was totally hooked when I read that description. Like any collection of poetry, not all are hits, but many are fantastic. I think most kids will particularly appreciate the one about long division:
This number gets a wall and a ceiling. Nice and comfy in there.
But a bunch of other numbers are about to disrupt the peace ---
bumping the wall, digging up the cellar, tap dancing on the roof.
I particularly like how many of the poems were seasonal and I thought the accompanying illustrations were fun - unique, quirky, evocative.
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