See how Janeczko and Raschka turn our view of poetry upside down and inside out!

Concrete poems startle and delight the eye and mind. The size and arrangement of words — or even just letters on the page can add or alter meaning, and poems can take the shape of crows and fly off the page. Or become a balloon filled with rhyme drifting away from outstretched hands. Or fourteen exuberant lines can become "Joy Sonnet in a Random Universe." Here in a single extraordinary volume are thirty poems from some of the world?s finest visual poets, including John Hollander, Emmett Williams, Maureen W. Armour, and Douglas Florian — a spirited "poke in the I" brought to you by the very talented Paul B. Janeczko and Chris Raschka.

Even kids who don?t know they like poetry will love this playful, visually accessible collection of thirty concrete poems — illustrated by a Caldecott Honor artist!

"On this book's cover, a winking man nudges a letter 'I' with his umbrella. This multilayered image, with its homonym and visual game, provides a stimulating introduction to 30 concrete poems by various authors. Throughout the volume, crisp black words on spotless backgrounds do double-duty as concepts and physical objects. Raschka (Waffle) works in tandem with each poem's design; for example, he fashions the palindrome 'eyeleveleye' as a bar across three faces, with each pair of 'E's' standing for eyes, and the giddy eat-it-before-it-melts 'Popsicle' presents a block of words atop vertical letters spelling 'sticky,' as a nearby ice cream vendor gazes out from the page. Other poems contradict top-to-bottom reading conventions. The phrases of 'Sky Day Dream' ('Once I saw/ some crows/ fly off...') ascend the page, diminishing in size as though growing distant. For the spread 'Tennis Anyone?' words and artwork suggest a tennis court with the gutter as the net, so that readers glance from side to side as though watching a volley. Janeczko (Very Best [almost] Friends) selects economical works that allow plenty of space for reflection. 'Whee' offers a slope of six single-syllable words ('Packed snow steep hill fast sled') and a scattered group of rag-doll figures; another piece simply joins 'merging' to 'traffic.' Raschka's restrained collages of calligraphic watercolor lines and torn paper leave most everything to the shaped poems. He and Janeczko provide an uncluttered, meditative space for the picturesque language. All ages." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"These aren't poems to read aloud, but to look at and laugh at together, with young children and especially older readers, who will enjoy the surprise of what words look like and what can be done with them." Booklist

Concrete poems startle and delight the eye and mind. The size and arrangement of words and letters can add or alter meaning--forming a poem that takes the shape of crows that fly off the page or becoming a balloon filled with rhyme, drifting away from outstretched hands. Here, in a single extraordinary volume, are thirty poems from some of the world's finest visual poets, including John Hollander, Emmett Williams, Maureen W Armour and Douglas Florian. New to the paperback edition, tucked inside the front cover, are tips, guidelines, and inspiration for writing your own concrete poems.

Here, in a single extraordinary volume, are 30 poems from some of the world's finest visual poets, including John Hollander, Emmett Williams, Maureen W. Armour and Douglas Florian. Includes tips, guidelines, and inspiration for writing one's own concrete poems. Full color.