GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys:POETIC FORM: MODULE 3

written by Bob Raczka; art by Peter Reynolds.2010.  Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.  ISBN 978-0-547-24003-9    

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys is written by Bob Raczka with art done by Peter H. Reynolds.  The poems are written to grab the attention of boys.  These poems are written about the four seasons with six poems per season.  The book starts out with Spring and then goes in chronological order of the seasons which makes this a great arrangement.  None of the poems have titles they are just about a specific season. The content of the poems are based upon outdoor activities that appeal to boys. Some of the poems are action based such as: following deer tracks, skipping rocks and fighting off mosquitoes.  Other poems are sensory based such as counting how many snowflakes it will take to make a snow day, feeling grasshoppers hitting you, and counting stars.  This book is written completely in haiku format which is nonrhyming.  Haiku's consist of three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line.  Haiku's really appeal to children because they are easy to understand, short and about topics that children enjoy, usually nature. 

All of these activities that are written about appeal to young children both boys and girls.  Children will be able to relate to these experiences.  While most children will be able to relate to flying kites, making snowman, roasting marshmallows they may not be as familiar with playing with cattails, seeing mashed penny's on a train tack, or using squadrons as helicopters from the maple tree. By reading some of these activities they will expand their vocabulary and activities and it will stimulate imagination when reading these new concepts.  These poems will also stimulate a variety of thought process from children.  If they have not done some of these outdoor things I am sure that they will be curious about them and want to do them or if they have it will bring back an emotional experience from them when remembering a time that they had while doing one of these activities.  These poems are not about sentimental things which really makes them appeal to boys.  Sometimes children think about love when they think about poetry but since that is not always the case at all this is a good book to use to show otherwise because it is so fun.    

To accompany these wonderful poems is awesome art work.  They are cartoon like drawings in watercolor and digital color.  They are mostly done in brown with splashes of color relating the season the poem is about.  The illustrations are humorous to the poems which will appeal to children.  There are author and illustrator notes at the end of the book to explain the haiku form and to encourage writing haiku and the creative process behind the art work.  These poems are great read alouds to children.   

The poem I would like to share with you is about summer, it goes like this:

With the ember end

of my long marshmallow stick,

I draw on the dark. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience:  Ages 5-8

Before reading:  Before reading this poem I would ask the children what types of activities they do in the summer time.  I would tell them I am going to read a poem to them and they have to guess what the little boy is doing. 

During reading:  I would read the poem slowly so they can try to visualize what the boy is doing in the poem.    
Reread the poem:   Before having them guess what the boy is doing out loud I will have each of the children sit quietly with a piece of paper and draw out what they saw.  Everyone visualizes things differently.  After they are all finished with their drawing I will collect all their papers and we will discuss as a class what the boy was doing and I will reread the poem. 

After reading:  I would have the children redraw their picture now that they know what it is about and see how they differ.  This would be such a fun way to introduce Haikus.