“Robert Frost once remarked that poetry without rules would be like tennis without a net,” writes Paul B. Janeczko in the introduction to an informative and irresistible volume that briefly explains and clearly illustrates 29 different poetic forms. There is the simplicity of the couplet (“a two-line poem or stanza, usually rhyming”) and the complexity of the pantoum (“an interlocking series of quatrains, with lines 2 and 4 of each stanza repeated as lines 1 and 3 of the next stanza. The final stanza adds a finishing touch—as lines 2 and 4 repeat lines 1 and 3 of the opening stanza. Whew!”). He pairs each short explanation of a form with one or two accessible poems from a wide range of poets. From the ode (Gary Soto’s “Ode to Pablo’s Tennis Shoes”) to sonnets (Shakespeare, and April Halprin Wayland on Shakespeare), limericks (Edward Lear and Steven Herrick) to a list poem (Georgia Heard), Janeczko’s selections cover a wide range of poetic terrain and human emotion. Most of the examples follow the rules for each form, but a few playfully alter them. An invaluable resource for classrooms, the 29 types of poetry offer inspiration for readers and writers of any age and temperament. Longer notes on each form are provided at the end of the volume, while Chris Raschka’s breezy watercolor, ink, and torn-paper illustrations provide visual accompaniment to the poem(s) on each page spread. (Age 9 and older)

Grade 3-9-Following on the heels of their delightful introduction to concrete poetry, A Poke in the I (Candlewick, 2001), Janeczko and Raschka now join forces to explore poetic forms. An introduction presents an easy-to-swallow rationale for the many rules to follow, likening the restrictions to those found in sports: in both cases, rules challenge the players to excel in spite of limits. The repertoire then unfolds to showcase 29 forms, one to two poems per spread, building from a couplet, tercet, and quatrain to the less familiar and more complex persona poem, ballad, and pantoum. The selections are accessible without being simplistic; they span an emotional range from the tongue-in-cheek humor of J. Patrick Lewis's "Epitaph for Pinocchio" to Rebecca Kai Dotlich's moving "Whispers to the [Vietnam] Wall." Each page is a tour de force of design, the pace and placement of art and text perfectly synchronized. Raschka's characters and abstractions emerge from torn layers of fuzzy rice paper, intricately patterned Japanese designs, and solids, decorated and defined by quirky ink-and-watercolor lines. The expansive white background provides continuity and contrast to the colorful parade. The name of each form resides in the upper corner of the page, accompanied by a wry visual. A definition (in an unobtrusive smaller font) borders the bottom; more detail on each form is provided in endnotes. Readers will have the good fortune to experience poetry as art, game, joke, list, song, story, statement, question, memory. A primer like no other.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library.