Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults

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Three years after its publication, I continue to regularly turn middle school students onto John Grandits' first, incredibly fun book of concrete poems. That first book, TECHNICALLY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT, which is made up of a series of poems that are created through an interplay of text and graphics, involves the exploits of a boy named Robert. The fun begins on the front cover with the title poem in which Robert explains how he has duplicated Galileo's discovery of the constancy of gravity by dropping a tomato and a concrete block out of the attic window with unforeseen results.

"...Boy, did I ever learn a lesson -- and that's the important thing, isn't it? I mean, even if you know something for a fact, like heavy stuff falls faster than light stuff, it's best to check it with a carefully planned scientific experiment. Oh, yeah, and I also learned not to drop concrete blocks out of the attic window. But in my opinion, the experiment was totally worth doing. There was just a slight mix-up, one tiny detail that went wrong, so even though the car has a concrete block sticking out of the roof, technically, IT'S NOT MY FAULT"

Creatively employing QuarkXPress software, Photoshop, and dozens of typefaces I'd never previously encountered, Grandits creates such memorable shaped poems as "Just Mow the Lawn," "The Thank-You Letter" (with exceptionally rude footnotes), "TyrannosaurBus Rex," and (my favorite) "The Autobiography of Murray the Fart."

From several of the concrete poems found in TECHNICALLY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT, we learn about Robert's big sister, Jessie. For instance, in "My Sister is Crazy," Robert quotes Jessie's explanation for her wearing a "little pyramid-shaped hat" (It involves the Egyptians and the Aztecs...or maybe it's the Incas.), in "It's Not Fair" Robert wraps Jessie's algebra homework around a bottle rocket and lights the fuse, and in "Bloodcurdling Screams" Robert demonstrates (with a very long, red, spiral-shaped line of text) how, "My sister makes this cool noise when she's in the shower and I flush the toilet."

Now, in BLUE LIPSTICK, Grandits' second collection of concrete poems, Jessie is given her chance to respond. In addition to such tragic and poetic tales as "Bad Hair Day" (It's suddenly blue like the lipstick.), "point A to point B (a plea for a ride to school)," and "My Absolutely Bad Cranky Day," we get to witness Robert's comeuppance in poems like "Talking to My Stupid Younger Brother Is Like Swimming Upstream in a River to Nowhere," and "Tattoo and Tongue Stud" (a poem in the shape of a tongue with the stud in the middle):

"I walk into the kitchen. Robert is at the
table, eating ice cream. I sit down beside him
and casually push up my sleeve so he'll see it:
My new tattoo. It says, 'Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n'
Roll' in spiky goth letters. 'What the heck is
that?' he screams. I smile. This is working out
just fine. 'It'th a tattoo,' I say, all innocent-
like. 'What's wrong with you?' he demands.
'Why are you lisping?' I stick out my tongue,
and there it is: a perfect little silver stud,
right in the center. Robert starts pumping
his arm like he just won a million bucks.
' Yessss! You are in soooo much trouble,' he
says. 'Wait till Mom and Dad see this. Dad will
kill you, and then Mom will ground you for
life.' I give him a big yawn. 'Who care'th?'
I say. 'You will, when I tell them,' he says.
'They;re at the neighbors', and I'm going to go
get them.' He takes off, and I can hear him
yelling, 'Mom! Dad!' all the way down the street.
How perfect is this? I slide off the magnetic
tongue stud. I wash off the temporary tattoo.
And while I wait for my parents to come rushing
home, I practice saying, 'I don't know
what Robert is talking about. Maybe
he needs counseling.' This is going
to be great."

This stuff is so much fun (and so evil) that you've got to believe students will be looking to take a crack at developing some of their own concrete poems. And when they do, it will definitely liven up the visuals of a classroom or teen section poetry wall.

Richie Partington, MLIS
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