Book Review of a Compilation by Paul Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B., ed. 2001. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices, compiled by Paul B. Janeczko, is a collection of mask poems. A mask poem is a poem written from the viewpoint of an animal, an inanimate object, or some aspect of nature. Mr. Janeczko includes poems from the viewpoints of a vacuum cleaner, a seashell, a washing machine, a dirty laundry pile, a maple tree, a bear, and a snowflake, as well as many others. The poems utilize both rhyme (i.e. “Job Satisfaction” by John Collis) and free verse form (i.e. “Prayer of a Snowflake” by Cynthia Pederson), and include several shape poems (i.e. “The Mosquito’s Song” by Peggy B. Leavitt). A rhyming poem that I found especially appealing is “Cat Speak” by Bobbi Katz.

Cat Speak

“Here, kitty, kitty!”
Imagine that!
Where did they learn to speak to a cat?
Annoying me while I’m taking my ease
in my blue comfy chair in the sun,
if you please.
Annoying me when I’m taking a nap!
Picking me up to plop on a lap!
They have things in a terrible muddle.
I’ll decide with whom I’ll cuddle.
Perhaps I’ll let them stroke my fur,
and when I wish, perhaps I’ll purr.
Perhaps I’ll brush against a leg.
But I give the orders, and I don’t beg.

Melissa Sweet’s illustrations of each poem bring out the subject with cheerful or dark colors, depending on the poem’s nature. Many of the poems contain multiple illustrations, showing the action of the poem or variants of the subject. All of the poems in the collection are appealing to the reader – some are very straightforward and some have more hidden meanings, making them appropriate for all elementary and middle school ages.

Paul Janeczko and Melissa Sweet have teamed together to bring a delightful book to students, teachers, and librarians in Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. As stated by School Library Journal, “Whether thoughtful or humorous in nature, many of [the poems] are on-target descriptions of a variety of unrelated objects. . . .” With this in mind, Dirty Laundry Pile can be used for pleasure reading, or as a springboard for helping students learn not only to identify mask poems but to write a mask poem themselves.

Jones, T., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & Scheps, S. (2001, August). Dirty Laundry Pile (Book Review). School Library Journal, 47(8), 169. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.