Bibliography
Lewis, J. Patrick. 1998. DOODLE DANDIES: POEMS THAT TAKE SHAPE. Ill. Lisa Desimini. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 978-0689848896.

Plot Summary
A collection of 19 concrete poems taking the shape of anything from animals to skyscrapers to the night sky.

Critical Analysis
J. Patrick Lewis must have enjoyed himself as he created this delicious set of poems for young kids to feast on. The poems are clever. The shapes are part of the story being told. In Lashondra Scores! The words start out large on the left and get smaller as they arch upwards and get slightly larger as they come back down on the right for the score. The visual adds to the drama of the clock ticking down and that one last shot, ever so slowly, makes its way across the court.

Weeping Willow makes use of not only the seemingly sad shape of a willow tree, but uses repetition and alliteration with the “W” sound to mimic the sadness of the “wee widow weeping” with “Her wind-woven hair softly sweeping/softly sweeping.”

The poems, written in their shapes, are only augmented by the brilliant use of items to create a collage. In A Swing and a Miss, real baseballs are used with a green grass rug as the outfield. The giraffe in Giraffe is created with the words while the backdrop is created using large green leaves and hay or dried grass. Very simple, yet somehow simply perfect for depicting the natural habitat of these animals.

Any child will find DOODLE DANDIES to be just dandy. Much entertainment will come as small children delight in finding the shapes of these imaginative poems.

Awards Won And Reviewed Excerpt(s)
Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “…mix of clever language and visual delights …”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “an inventive collection of concrete poems.”
This book is not an award winner.

Connections
*After sharing this book of shape poems, students can choose an object of their own to describe using only adjective. Student then would create a poem using the adjectives and the shape of the object.
*Other collections of concrete poems:
Grandits, John. BLUE LIPSTICK: CONCRETE POEMS. ISBN 978-0618851324.
Janeczko, Paul B. A POKE IN THE I: A COLLECTION OF CONCRETE POEMS. ISBN 978-0763623760.