Module 6: Book Review 16-Janeczko Collection

 Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices

Bibliography

Janeczko, P. B. & Sweet, M. (2001) Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0688162517

Summary

“I’m going to be heard, glubita, glub, swizzle-dee-wash. I’m going to make dirty clothes clean,” said the washing machine!  Experience a voice like that and twenty-six other recognizable voices like a vacuum cleaner and some lost gloves in this spectacular collection selected by Paul B. Janeczko.  Immerse yourself in the magic this book has to offer in the voices of your most common everyday objects.  Enjoy several different poetic elements throughout each poem with great illustrations to match! With plenty of humor and silliness throughout the book, this is ideal for everyone!

Analysis

The poems in Dirty Laundry Pile are a collection selected by Janeczko written by well-known poets.  In this anthology, each poet gives voice to some of your most common everyday objects making this book humorous and sweet.  It is a fantastic book that can be used to teach numerous poetic elements such as personification, visualization, and sound.  The poem, The Vacuum Cleaner’s Revenge include a couple of poetic elements that are fun and easy for children to spot.  Rhyming and the use of onomatopoeia are the two types of elements that are recognizable within the poem.  Children will love the sound words like munch, crunch, zoom, and roar the vacuum makes and the fun rhymes added throughout the poem.  

This is just one reason why children ages 6 to 9 years old will genuinely enjoy this book.  Children will also appreciate the kid-like illustrations that are brightly colorful, lively, and imaginable.  Melissa Sweet did a magnificent job at adding the right details into each illustration that make the book a delight for reading.   

Another bonus of the book is the opportunity to use it as a mentor text to teach children about point of view and voice.  With the short and easy poems, kids will be able to catch on quickly, identifying who is talking in each poem.  Students can even try and write a similar poem about another everyday thing and make it come alive.

Dirty Laundry Pile is a sensational book by Paul B. Janeczko that promotes a love of poetry.  Including a variety of poets into the book and bringing things to life to hear their perspective on a topic is fun and inventive.  It is definitely worth the time to check out. 

Excerpt

The Vacuum Cleaner’s Revenge
Patricia Hubbell
 
I munch. I crunch.
I zoom. I roar.
 
I clatter-clack
Across the floor.
 
I swallow twigs.
I slurp dead bugs.
 
I suck the cat hair
From the rugs.
 
My stomach full
Of dirt and dust
 
I gulp another
Pizza crust.
 
A tiresome life---
All work, no play---
 
I think I’ll swallow you today!

 

Use

This and several other poems within the book would be excellent selections for dramatizing.  Students can act out the movements and make gestures to match each line within the poem.  They can also role-play, taking on the persona of the vacuum and use props for named objects .  This is a fun poem that will get the students imaginations flowing.