Review: Performance Poetry

Title: You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together

Author: Mary Ann Hoberman

Illustrator: Michael Emberley

ISBN: 978-0-316-01733-6

Citation: Hoberman, Mary Ann. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007.

Review: Mary Ann Hoberman takes on scary tales in her fourth installment of the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series. Very Short Scary Tales consists of poems set up as brief reader's theaters; each voice has its own color, which makes this book ideal for paired or choral readings. Targeted towards new readers, the poems in Very Short Scary Tales use poetic elements such as alliteration, rhyme, and repetition to reinforce reading techniques. The poems, which are more humorous than scary, cover topics from mummies to skeletons to zombies and will pique the interest and funny bones of young readers, especially those in the first through fourth grades. Michael Emberley's clever watercolor illustrations accompany each poem and will captivate readers' attention. Even though the poems lack depth and the rhyme and rhythm often seems forced Hoberman successfully creates choral readings for her target audience.

Potential Use: It can be difficult for educators to locate poems that are pre-designated for paired or choral readings; the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series does the hard work ahead of time by clearly color-coding the two voices in each poem. Very Short Scary Tales would be ideal to use for group readings, especially around the Halloween holiday. Each poem is spooky enough to fit the Scary Tale theme, but not scary enough to frighten even young children. A fun activity for this book would be to divide the poems amongst the students in a class and to have a Halloween performance for parents or peers. An example of the color-coded poetry compiling in this book can be found below.

The Mummy

Let's explore inside this tomb.

I'm afraid we'll meet our doom.

Nothing's here to be afraid of.

Here's a package! What's it made of?

Wow! I think it is a mummy!

Butterflies are in my tummy.

It can't hurt you. Don't be scared.

I would touch it if I dared.

Maybe we can both unwrap it.

First I think we'd better tap it.

What if someone's still inside?

Maybe it was someone's father.

Someone's dad? Don't be a dummy!

Maybe it was someone's mummy!

It's an awful lot of cloth.

Eek! Let's go! I saw a moth!

Come on, help me to unwind.

I'm afraid of what we'll find.

We'll be finished in a minute.

Leaping lizards! Nothing's in it!

All that trouble to unroll it.

Then to find out someone stole it.

Robbed its tomb. It makes me sick!

Someone played a dirty trick!

I would like to know who did it

And to find out where they hid it.

I think we should search some more.

Maybe there's a secret door.

We might find another space.

We might find its hiding place.

Wouldn't it be really yummy

If at last we found the mummy?

Maybe this book has a clue.

You read to me, I'll read to you.