Dirt on My Shirt

written by Jeff Foxworthy
illustrated by Steve Björkman

Jeff Foxworthy's Dirt on My Shirt
Illustrated by Steve Björkman

Children's book review by Suzanne Edison.

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A poetry book about poetry

Ages 5-9

“Are We There Yet?”

Can you make a poem out of this oft repeated question? You bet. The last line being, “We haven’t left the driveway yet!”

How about Uncle Keith with great big teeth and Auntie Brooke who makes meatballs the size of your head?

These poems are deliciously fun and tickle the bones of kids who are mischievous or think poetry “is dumb,” or maybe just need an introduction to the idea that you can make a poem about anything.

They are often silly, like

Grandma puts on lipstick
It’s bright red like a rose
Because she cannot see too well
It ends up on her nose!

Or they strike just the right note of seriousness, especially when talking about the importance of friends:

A world without friends
I don’t think I could bear it

...and the accompanying picture of a cat and dog as pirate buddies hauling away a treasure chest says it all.

An oddity, but maybe the best part of Dirt on My Shirt (at least for would be poets), there are exclamation points and question marks and a rare comma but never a period in sight!

Read more of Suzanne's children's book reviews.

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