Scieszka, J., & Smith, L. (2004). Science verse. New York: Viking.
The poems in this book make science fun and
funny. John Scieszka is known for his sense of humor and this is his second
poetry book. He’s also written one about math, entitled Math Curse.
Some of the topics covered are evolution,
precipitation, dinosaurs, astronomy, the food chain, the Scientific Method, and
more.
The rhythm
varies and the style is usually lyrical,
but there is always rhyme. Several
are funny limericks. “The Senseless
Lab of Paul Revere” is more narrative,
a parody of Paul Revere that describes the smells and sights in a teacher’s
laboratory.
The author even confronts the fact that dinosaurs
are taught constantly, to the point kids get sick of it. The poem is “Dine-Sore”,
and here is a stanza:
Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus,
On and on the same old chorus,
Elementary stuff to bore us.
“No more,” we beg. She ignores.
The illustrations are brightly painted, somewhat
wacky, and fit the humorous theme. The human characters are cartoonish and stay
consistent throughout the book. However, the rest of the pictures are pieced
together in a collage of textured paper,
drawings, and scientific symbols. The entire periodic table of the elements is
pasted onto the flyleaf in the back
of the book.
This book is appropriate for ages 7 and up, but
the humor appeals to all ages. You could use the poems with middle and high to
introduce a unit or activity in math or science. In fact, there are so many
things you could do with this book! One big question sparked by Science Verse could be: how has our
scientific knowledge changed over the past decade?
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