Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices

Two's company . . . four's a blast Especially when you're joining voices with family or friends. Around the kitchen table, on the front steps, or in the classroom, these rousing, rib-tickling, delicious poems will fill you full of the joy of reading aloud. Paul Fleischman won the Newbery Medal for JOYFUL NOISE: POEMS FOR TWO VOICES. Now he invites us to make more word music.

Settle back and chant The Quiet Evenings Here, as Grandma rocks, the clock tick-tocks, Sister hums, raindrops rap, and no one cares a hoot for the noisy, fast-paced world outside. Delight in the gossipy Seventh-Grade Soap Opera, alive with whispers, invitations, and hearsay about who's fibbing, eavesdropping, or holding hands with whom. Let the poignant Ghosts' Race reveal the secret hungry ghosts know--and their spirited take on mortal mealtime. Arranged in color-coded groups of four lines, one line per speaker, each poem weaves a rich tapestry of rhythm, sense, and sound.

Written by Paul Fleischman, the renowned author of WESLANDIA, and evocatively illustrated by Beppe Giacobbe, this hip, innovative, and extraordinary book will have readers of all ages sounding off.

These rousing, rib-tickling poems demand the joy of reading aloud. Settle back and chant "The Quiet Evenings Here," as Grandma rocks, the clock tick-tocks, and no one cares a hoot for the world outside. Delight in "Seventh-Grade Soap Opera," alive with hearsay about whos holding hands with whom. This innovative book weaves a tapestry of rhythm that will have readers of all ages sounding off.

Beppe Giacobbe was born in Milan, Italy, in 1953, and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York. In addition to teaching at the European Institute of Design, he also illustrates book jackets and, in his spare time, creates sculptures out of knicknacks and objects he finds while out walking. He says he is "a calm and meticulous man, who vents his emotions while drawing." Beppe Giacobbe lives in Milan.