SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Announcements
    • Upcoming Presentations
    • Contact The Classroom Bookshelf
  • Book Lists
    • Awards
    • Best of Lists
    • Summer Reading
  • Fiction
    • Novels
    • Fiction Picture Books
    • Fiction Chapter Books
    • Fantasy
    • Comics & Graphic Novels
    • Historical Fiction
    • Traditional Literature
  • Nonfiction
    • Biography & Memoirs
    • Nonfiction Picture Books
    • Nonfiction Chapter Books
    • Fictionalized Biography
  • Poetry
    • Poetry Picture Books
  • Picture Books
    • Fiction Picture Books
    • Nonfiction Picture Books
    • Poetry Picture Books
  • Classroom & Curricular Ideas

January 10, 2011 by Erika Thulin Dawes

Guyku

January 10, 2011 by Erika Thulin Dawes   Leave a Comment


Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys
Written by Bob Raczka and Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Published by Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-547-24003-9
Book Review:
“If this puddle could / talk, I think it would tell me / to splash my sister.” Following the traditional seasonal organization of collections of haiku, this picture book of twenty-four poems, aimed at a boy audience, leads the reader in a vigorous exploration of the wonders of nature. True to traditional form, these three line poems celebrate the fun to be had flying kites, climbing trees, toasting marshmallows, and placing pennies on railroad tracks, just to name a few of the activities featured. The high energy text is complemented by Reynold’s two color sketches depicting a multicultural cast of boy characters. Six poems are presented for each season of the year; the season is introduced in simple bold font across a double page spread. The book design is particularly engaging with modest trim size, thick glossy pages, and rich teal end papers. With appeal across the elementary grade and across genders (despite the title’s claim), this text highlights the accessibility of the poetic form of haiku.
Teaching Suggestions:
Grades K – 6:
  • Nature and Poetry Writing. Take your students outside to explore the environment around your school. Take along clipboards and writing and sketching materials so that students can record their sensory experiences in preparation for writing their own poetry. If possible, provide students with digital cameras to capture images from the exploration. Allow students time to draft, revise, and receive feedback on their poems. Publish the poems in a class book.
  • Genre Study: Gather a collection of texts featuring haiku (use the resources below as a starting point) and begin a genre study of this poetic form. First, read many examples, and ask students to record their observations. Once students have formed hypotheses regarding the characteristics of the form, you may want to provide some “official” definitions or descriptions drawn from the websites below or other sources. Continue to read examples, discussing variations that students observe. Invite students to compose their own haiku collections on topics of their own choosing.
  • Humorous Haiku. Using Jack Pretutsky’s advice (see link below) and Guyku as a mentor text, have your students focus on writing humorous haiku. In what ways is writing humorous haiku easier than traditional haiku? In what ways is it more difficult?
Grades 3-8
  • Haiga. Haiga is the traditional art form that combines haiku poems and paintings. Using Renee Owen’s experimental collage work in the December 2010 issue of Haigaonline (see link below), create a class slide show of collage-style haiga.
Critical Literacy:
Grades 3 -8:
  • Investigating Gender Preferences. This book was written and marketed to appeal to a young male audience. But would girls find it appealing as well? What assumptions do the authors and illustrators make about both boys and girls? Are there any “truths” to those claims, and if so, who says? How might any assumptions lead to stereotypes about boys and girls as readers, learners, and people? Begin a discussion with your class about these questions, and supplement it by reading several texts that explore these issues. Oliver Button is a Sissy, Ballerino Nate, and The Paper Bag Princess are good picture books to help even K-2 students think critically about gender issues. Invite your students to conduct an inquiry project to determine whether or not there are clear gender-related preferences for certain types of reading material. You may want to begin this inquiry by asking students to explore their own assumptions about what girls like to read and what boys like to read. Ask students to design a research tool (such as a survey) to gather information about what their schoolmates like to read. Invite them to extend the study by surveying their parents’ / grandparents’ / neighbors’ reading interests.
Further Explorations:
Web Links:
The Official Haiku for Guys Headquarters:
www.GuykuHaiku.com
Bob Raczka’s Website:
www.BobRaczka.com
James Patterson’s Boys’ Spotlight:
http://www.readkiddoread.com/home

Guys Read:

http://www.guysread.com/

Poetry Foundation on Haiku:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/tool.poem.glossary.1.html?id=22

Haiku Society:

http://www.haikusociety.com/learn/historyofhaiku
Haiga Online:
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue11-2/issue11-2.html
Jack Prelutsky: How to Write a Funny Poem
http://www.jackprelutsky.com/flash/pdf_docs/HowToWriteAFunnyPoem.pdf
Books:
Aronson, M. & Newquist, H.P.(2007). For boys only: The biggest, baddest book ever. New York: Feiwel & Friends.
  • A collection of fascinating and obscure information about a broad variety of topics appealing to a boy audience.
Bodden, V. (2010). Haiku. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.
  • An informational book presenting the history and characteristics of haiku.
Clements, A. (2007). Dogku. Ill. by T. Bowers. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  • The popular comic author presents a picture book featuring a series of haiku about a dog named Mooch.
Graves, D.H. (1996). Baseball, snakes and summer squash: Poems about growing up. New York: Wordsong / Boyds Mills Press.
  • A collection of poems that feature the everyday experiences and emotions of childhood.
Iggulden, C. & Iggulden, H. (2007). The dangerous book for boys. New York: Harper Collins.
  • A book of instructions for boys “eight to 80,” featuring essential skills for boys, such as how to fish and how to build a treehouse, as well as information on a variety of frequently asked questions.
Lewis, J.P. & Janeczko, P. (2008). Birds on a wire: A Renga ‘round town. Ill. by G. Lippincott. New York: Wordsong Press.
  • Renga is a Japanese poetic form that is a cousin to haiku, consisting of linked verses by multiple authors. The renga in this picture book celebrate life in a small town.
Lin, G. & R. McKnealy. (2006). Our seasons. Ill. by G. Lin. Cambridge, MA: Charlesbridge.
  • This informational text pairs haiku with questions and answers about the seasons.
Mannis, C.D. (2002) One leaf rides the wind: Counting in a Japanese garden. Ill. by S.K. Hartung. New York: Puffin Books.
  • In this counting book of haiku poems, a young girl explores a Japanese garden.
Mora, P. (2007). Yum! mmmm! que rico!: Americas’ sproutings Y. Ill. by R. Lopez. New York: Lee & Low.
  • A collection of haiku that feature the indigenous foods of the Americas.
Myers, T. (2000). Basho and the fox. Ill. by O.S. Han. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
Myers, T. (2004). Basho and the river stones. Ill. by O.S. Han. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
  • These two tales feature the seventeenth century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho (famous for his haiku compositions) and his reformation of a treacherous fox.
Osborne, M.P. (2007). Dragon of the red dawn. Ill. by S. Murdocca. New York: Random House.
  • In this title in the Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie visit 1600’s Japan and meet the haiku poet Basho.
Prelutsky, J. (2004). If not for the cat. Ill. by T. Rand. New York: Greenwillow.
  • In first person haiku, seventeen animals describe themselves. Striking double-page close up images of the animal complement each poem.
Rosen, M. (2009). The cuckoo’s haiku and other birding poems. Ill. by S. Fellows. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
  • Twenty North American birds are featured in this picture book haiku collection.
Yolen, J. (2003). Least things: Poems about small natures. Ill. by J. Stemple. New York: Wordsong / Boyds Mills Press.
  • Photographs are used to illustrate this collection of haiku about small creatures, including a spider, a hummingbird, and a crab.

Filed under: Poetry

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Erika Thulin Dawes

Erika is a professor of language and literacy at Lesley University. A former classroom teacher, reading specialist, and literacy supervisor, she now teaches courses in children’s literature, early literacy, and literacy methods. Erika is the co-author of Learning to Write with Purpose, Teaching with Text Sets, and Teaching to Complexity.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2022

Presidential Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman's Debut Picturebook Rings and Sings in the New Year

by Erika Thulin Dawes

December 2021

Promoting Peace with Poetry and Art

by Erika Thulin Dawes

November 2021

Drawing Inspiration from The Wisdom of Trees

by Erika Thulin Dawes

April 2021

Assessing What Matters Most in The One Thing You’d Save

by Erika Thulin Dawes

April 2021

Connecting the Past and Present through Poetry: Teaching Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

by Erika Thulin Dawes

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Caldecott Jump

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Ben Mortara and the Thieves of the Golden Table | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

New Reports Show a Decline in YA Book Sales and I Have Some Thoughts as to Why That Might be Happening

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Picture Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Books Read in 2022

Best Young Adult Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Best Chapter Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Best Books 2022 | The Year in SLJ Covers

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023