I Am a Poetato

Description

I Am a Poetato

An A-Z of Poems About People, Pets and Other Creatures

John Hegley

(Otter-Barry Books)

‘To an alligator, you look yum/ You are yum to the tum of an alligator. Though you can think and you can feel,/ To an alligator, you are a meal deal.’ Then again, for A, there’s the narrative poem as Isabella, ‘four winters old, in her swimming cozzie‘ is advised to put on her shoes, as she learns about bull Ants. Again, it’s a cautionary verse, but in the two opening poems of I Am a Poetato, we witness John Hegley’s poetic dexterity.

Through B we travel, with Bees, to a C for Cat and a Christmas Caterpillar. At D, we consider Differences Between Dogs and Deckchairs. Therefore- ‘People don’t have trouble putting up a dog./ Dogs’ legs don’t have little notches in’-

By N, we’re recalling the Nit Nurse who ‘came to school to nab the nit/[ However] ‘Her white coat did not fit’. Meanwhile we’re contemplating a Quibble at Q as in ‘That’s not quite right, is it?/ or ‘Are you sure Barbara?’

I’ve been lucky enough to see John Hegley  in concert. Although I can visualise his performance and hear the poems in I Am a Poetato, I’m aware this is because of the shape and style of his writing. There is wit, word play, curiosity and intense engagement. While Bookwagon has other A-Z poetry titles that we love, such as Apes to Zebras, we are overjoyed to welcome this beautifully presented title aboard. We recommend this book for reading aloud, quoting, knowing well, keeping and gifting!