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Here are the mask poems I posted previously at Wild Rose Reader. I thought I’d include them all in one post in response to this week’s Poetry Stretch—Mask Poems at The Miss Rumphius Effect.


LOOK AT US NOW!
by Elaine Magliaro

The day we hatched from jellied eggs…
We looked like fish.
We had no legs.
We breathed through gills.
We had no lungs.
We didn’t have long sticky tongues.
We didn’t look like frogs…for sure.
But then we started to mature.
And day by day we changed and grew.
To tails and gills we bid adieu.
Now we have lungs and four fine limbs…
And we can croak
and jump
AND
swim!


THOUGHTS OF THE WOLF AS HE DESCENDS THE THIRD LITTLE PIG’S CHIMNEY
by Elaine Magliaro

This Pig’s outwitted me before.
No, I won’t knock upon his door,
Won’t threaten him, won’t huff and puff.
I’m finished with that macho stuff.
WELL…down the chimney here I go.
I’ll get that little pig. Ho, ho!
Can’t wait to taste his tender meat,
His juicy snout, his porky feet.
I’ll serve him up with grated cheese,
Potatoes, parsley, parsnips, peas.
Yeh! That’s my kind of swiney grub.
Uh-oh!
Splish-splash!
Bubble!GLUB!
I guess I’m in hot water now.
Goodbye, cruel world.
I’m piggy chow!


GRIZZLY BEAR
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m grizzly bear. I’m fierce and fat…
And dangerous. Remember that!
My teeth are sharp as sabers.
My curvy claws can cut like saws,
And when I prowl the woods I growl
And frighten all my neighbors.
I rule this land. These woods are mine!
I ain’t NOBODY’S valentine!
Don’t think that you can be my friend…
My dinner?
Yum!
GULP!

The End


JUST A SCENTIMENTAL GUY
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m black and white.
My tail’s all fluff.
I never growl.I don’t act tough.
I wander into yards at night.
I’m really harmless…
I don’t bite
Or snarl
Or scratch
Or kick
Or pounce.
I just dispense scents by the ounce.
That’s how I frighten foes away—
I lift my bushy tail and SPRAY!

I do not need long fangs or claws,
Bulging muscles,
Mighty jaws.
My malodorous defense,
I think,
Makes a lot of SCENTS!

So if you see me take my pose
To ward off predatory foes…
Just stand back and hold your nose!


BLUE WHALE’S BOAST
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m the biggest whale
in the big blue sea.
I’m blubbery big
as a whale should be.

I’m bigger than
an elephant
three rhinos,
a giraffe.

I’m bigger than
ten walruses
twos hippos
and a half.

There’s nothing
in the world
that’s bigger than me…
except, of course,
for the big blue sea!


SNAKE SOLILOQUY
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m a slippery slitherer
silent and sleek
sliding and slinking
through grasses
I sneak...
weaving and winding
legless and low
I slip slyly hidden
wherever I go.
Wending and bending
by stalk, stem, and stone
like a ribbon of muscle
and skin without bone
tongue catching the scent
of a soft, furry prey.
Smells like it’s field mouse
for dinner today!


FOR SALE: FAIRY TALE ARTIFACT
by Elaine Magliaro

My magic mirror is for sale.
It’s such an awful tattletale!
It told me things about my foe
I’d really rather never know.
I MUST be fairest in the land…
Not second best! You understand?
I want to be the most divine.
My reputation’s on the line!

The seven dwarfs are little cretins!
They should be in the dungeon, beaten.
They foiled my plans to kill the lass.
So…now I’ll sell my looking glass
And spend the cash on wrinkle cream,
A nose job, and a health regime,
Two weekends at a beauty spa.
Then I’ll look like a movie star.

I’ll be the fairest in the land!
And Snow White? She can go pound sand!


LETTER FROM THE QUEEN OF BEASTS
by Elaine Magliaro

Dear Lion,

I’m tired of doing the hunting, the preying
While your only job is to watch the cubs playing.
I’m tired of stalking the zebras and gnus
While you lie around on the grassland and snooze.
I’m tired of running, and pouncing, and killing.
I want a career that is much more fulfilling.
I’m tired, so tired. I’m spent to the core.
While I’m hard at work, you just eat, sleep, and snore.
I fetch all the food. You grow stronger…I thinner.
For the next seven days you can catch your own dinner!
I’m going away for a well-needed rest.
I’ll be seeing you soon.

All my love,
Lioness

SHANTE KEYS can be ordered via your local bookstore or online at the following book sites. 

ONLINE BOOK SITES:

Book Sense Independent Booksellers

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble.com 


BOOK DETAILS:

If you are going to your local bookstore to order the book, or want to recommend this book for purchase by your school or library, take this information along for easy ordering:

Shanté Keys and the New Year’s Peas
Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN 13: 978-0-8075-7330-3
$16.95 • $21.95 Canadian
Age Levels: 5-9
Grades: K-4
Pub. Date: November 2007
Pages: 32 • Size: 10.75 x 8.5
Illustrations: Full color
Library Binding

 We writers all dream our characters will turn into literary super heroes and earn us a lottery full of money. But do we ever dream they can fight disease and help for a brighter future? Hardly ever.

I have to admit I never even imagined that was possible. How on earth could little Shante' do something like that? I got the surprise of a lifetime last week when I found out that she will contribute in the fight against cancer.

The illustrator of my picture book, Marion Eldridge, used Shante' in her snowflake design this year for Robert's Snow. (http://www.jimmyfund.org/eve/event/roberts-snow/default.html) If you've never heard of Robert's Snow, it's an auction of snowflakes designed by children's illustrators to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It was started by illustrator Grace Lin as her husband Robert fought cancer, a battle he lost last month. I actually got teary eyed when I saw Shante' in that snowflake. I hope some wealthy person (are you reading this Oprah?) will fall in love with her, as Marion and I have, and bring in tons of money for cancer research.

You can see the snowflake on Marion's new blog:

http://marion-eldridgenews.blogspot.com/

 

Today I have another mask poem. This one is for Nancy at Journey Woman. Nancy has a great blog. I really wanted to participate in her Silly Words Contest—but I was too busy getting ready to launch Wild Rose Reader. Her Best Passages Contest last fall was a lot of fun. I even won a gift certificate to Starbucks! Thanks for your support, Nancy. I’ll be waiting to see what kind of blog contest you dream up next!


JUST A SCENTIMENTAL GUY
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m black and white.
My tail’s all fluff.
I never growl.
I don’t act tough.
I wander into yards at night.
I’m really harmless…
I don’t bite
Or snarl
Or scratch
Or kick
Or pounce.
I just dispense scents by the ounce.
That’s how I frighten foes away—
I lift my bushy tail and SPRAY!

I do not need long fangs or claws,
Bulging muscles,
Mighty jaws.
My malodorous defense,
I think,
Makes a lot of SCENTS!

So if you see me take my pose
To ward off predatory foes…
Just stand back and hold your nose!

My mask poem today is for Gail Maki Wilson of Through the Studio Door. Gail is an artist who also has her own website. You just may want to visit Gail’s website to have a look at her fine illustrations. Gail informed me the day I launched my new blog that she was adding Wild Rose Reader to her “good blog reads.” Gail, I appreciate your support. Thanks!


BLUE WHALE’S BOAST
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m the biggest whale
in the big blue sea.
I’m blubbery big
as a whale should be.

I’m bigger than
an elephant
three rhinos,
a giraffe.

I’m bigger than
ten walruses
twos hippos
and a half.

There’s nothing
in the world
that’s bigger than me…
except, of course,
for the big blue sea!


COLLABORATIVE CLASS MASK POEMS

I sometimes visited with other classes in my school to lead poetry-writing sessions. Here are collaborative poems I wrote with two different second grade classes:

PENGUIN
A Class Poem by Mrs. Berg’s Class

I am a penguin,
chubby in my black and white
suit,
waddling on the slippery ice,
sliding on my big belly
into the freezing cold sea.
SPLASH!
Here I come, fish.
I’m hungry as can be!


MONARCH
A Group Poem by Mrs. Baker’s Class

I chew on a milkweed leaf
so yummy.
I wiggle around on a green stage.
I hang upside down
like a bat
and shed my striped skin.

Inside my green and gold chrysalis
I grow my bright orange wings.
Someday I will be
a beautiful monarch
and fly around free
in a field of flowers.

Try writing a mask poem of your own. It's fun! I especially enjoy speaking in the voices of different animals. But you can imagine yourself to be the sun, the moon, a snowflake, the rain, the wind, the ocean, a tree...anything! Who or what would you pretend to be in a mask poem that you wrote?

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

WHEN RIDDLES COME RUMBLING: POEMS TO PONDER

Written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Illustrated by Karen Dugan

Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press

2001

Many of the poems in this book are not just mask poems--they are riddle rhymes to boot! It would be fun to read these rhythmic, rhyming riddles aloud to children and ask them to guess whose "voice" is speaking in each poem. The voices include those of a snake, a pizza, fireworks, a trampoline, and a roller coaster. The illustrations will help children guess the answers to the riddles.

BUTTERFLY EYES AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE MEADOW

Written by Joyce Sidman

Illustrated by Beth Krommes

Houghton Mifflin

2006

All of the poems in this book are riddles; many of them are also mask poems. Winner of the 2006 Cybils Award for Poetry, this book contains outstanding examples of mask poems. Some of the "voices" speaking to us in the poems are those of the dew, a grasshopper, a spittlebug, xylem and phloem, a milkweed plant, and a hawk. The illustrations in this book also provide clues for young readers to help them solve the riddles. You can read my review of BUTTERFLY EYES here.

ADDENDUM

Check out my A Poem a Day #14 post for links to some collaborative class poems I wrote with students at the Malcolm Bell School. You'll also find recommendations for children's poetry books with some great mask poems that are sure to inspire children to write their very own poems.

Today’s mask (persona) poem is for Jone (AKA Miss Mac) at Check It Out. Jone was kind enough to to add Wild Rose Reader to her blogroll soon after I launched my solo blog. Jone served as one of the five Cybils poetry judges. There’s a profile of her at the Cybils website…so check it out! And thanks, Jone, for your kind words and support.


SNAKE SOLILOQUY
by Elaine Magliaro

I’m a slippery slitherer
silent and sleek
sliding and slinking
through grasses
I sneak...
weaving and winding
legless and low
I slip slyly hidden
wherever I go.
Wending and bending
by stalk, stem, and stone
like a ribbon of muscle
and skin without bone
tongue catching the scent
of a soft, furry prey.
Smells like it’s field mouse
for dinner today!


FOR TEACHERS

I love mask poems. My students had great success writing mask poems in the classroom. I also lead poetry-writing sessions with students when I was a school librarian. Here are links to some collaborative class mask poems written by students with me in my school library, to a lesson for a poetry writing exercise, and to a page at the Village Writer site that has a definition of a persona poem and some examples of persona poems.

Class Mask Poems 2001-2002

Class Mask Poems 2002-2003

Check out Tree Voices Writing Exercise at the terrific website of award-winning children’s poet Kristine O’Connell George.

Persona Poems at Village Writer


BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

It is always wise to immerse children in mask/persona poems written by a variety of poets before asking them to write their own poems. Here are some books with mask poems that I used in the classroom and in the library to inspire my students.

DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE: POEMS IN DIFFERENT VOICES
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
HarperCollins
2001

This nifty anthology includes poems by Karla Kuskin, Bobbi Katz, Tony Johnston, Patricia Hubbell, Lilian Moore, Marilyn Singer, Jane Yolen, Douglas Florian, Alice Schertle, April Halprin Wayland, and Kristine O’Connell George. In these poems we hear the voices of a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, the winter wind, a whale, a cow, a mosquito, a bacterium, a blue crayon, a snowflake, and trees.

DESERT VOICES
Written by Byrd Baylor
Illustrated by Peter Parnall
Macmillan
1981

In Baylor's collection, we hear the voices of desert animals—including those of a jackrabbit, a rattlesnake, a spadefoot toad, a buzzard, and a coyote. This is an excellent book!

INSECTLOPEDIA
Written & illustrated by Douglas Florian
Harcourt Brace
1998

I LOVE this book!!! Not all of the poems in this book are mask poems—but the nine that Douglas Florian wrote for this collection are really excellent examples for kids…and they’re a lot of fun to read to and recite for students. The mask poems in this book include The Dragonfly, The Inchworm, The Black Widow Spider, The Weevils, The Whirligig Beetles, and The Locusts. The other poems in this collection are terrific, too.


OUT OF PRINT BOOKS
Both of these books have exceptional examples of mask poems. If you can locate used copies--buy them. I found both books invaluable in the classroom and library.

ANY ME I WANT TO BE
Written & illustrated by Karla Kuskin
HarperCollins
1972

Kuskin speaks in a variety of voices in the poems in this book: those of a broom, a kite, a lion, the snow, the night, a dragon, a snake, a jaguar, a strawberry, a clock, and more.

TURTLE IN JULY
Written by Marilyn Singer
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Macmillan
1989

In this book, Singer captures the voice of a different animal for each month of the year. She also has a bullhead fish explain what her life is like during each of the four seasons.