Singer, Marilyn and Josée Masse. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2010.

Plot Summary

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse is an original poetry compilation written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josee Masse.  Singer turns fairy tales from Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Beauty and the Beast and more in this fun book of poetry.  What makes this poetry really unique is that you can read the verse the classical way and then read it upside down for a new take on the poem.

Critical Analysis

There are a rhythm and flow to each poem.  Singer does an excellent job choosing the exact words in the precise location so that the poem can be read upside down while keeping the same rhythm.  As the words are carefully selected for these particular poems, there is not a consistency to the rhyme in all of the poems.  The two poems are right next to each other.  You can read from top to bottom and then from bottom to top to get a different point of view.  In the “Red Riding Hood” poem, the first stanza describes Red Riding Hoods journey to go visit her Grandma, and then in reverse, the same words are from Wolf’s point of view.  Red Riding Hood is thinking “berries, juicy and sweet, but a girl mustn't dawdle, ” and on the reverse side the wolf is thinking “but a girl, juicy and sweet.”  On the one hand the poem is talking about juicy berries, and on the contrary, the poem is talking about the girl as a juicy treat!  It is amazing how the same words in a different order can give such opposing viewpoints.  In these poems, the author uses character’s voice to explain these classic tales as poems.  Each word is chosen craftily to have the effect that the poems are being told through the character’s thoughts. 

The language is chosen carefully to bring justice to the classic tale it is telling while creating fun to read aloud poem.  The short, concise words are selected to make short prose that make the characters come to life.  The other uses language devices such as onomatopoeia and alliteration to add to the emotion of the poem.  The word choice is unique and makes reading these poems like playing.   A reader will enjoy the fast paced poem and then to flip it the other way and read it again for a new take.

Masse’s illustrations support the poems by depicting each different character’s point of view with a line down the middle separating the pictures and poems.  The pictures bring a pop with a full page of color.  In “The Sleeping Beauty and the Wide Awake Prince” the illustrator shows one side an image of Sleeping Beauty and on the other side in complimenting colors a prince on horseback.  The imagery of the different pictures brings the same views as the opposing poems in the masterful art.

The book of poetry is of good organization and design.  The set of poems goes together well with the theme of fairy tales.  It is an excellent balance of poetry and images to create a fun read-aloud experience.

Awards and Recognition
Flicker Tale Children's Book Award Nominee for Picture Book (2012)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Picture Book (2010)
New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award for Picture Book Narrative (2012)
Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Grades 3-6 (2014)

THE WASHINGTON POST: "Remarkable." (Amazon)

KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW:  “A mesmerizing and seamless celebration of language, imagery and perspective.” — (Penguin Random House, 2010)

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “Masse’s clever compositions play with symmetry, bringing this smart concept to its fullest effect.” —(Penguin Random House, 2010)


Connections-

Gather other Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer:
Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems ISBN: 0803737696
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths ISBN: 0803739923

Have students choose a poem from the book and plan a debate.  Students can debate which character has the correct representation.   Students can be in groups and prepare questions to ask the other side.

Explain to the students what the reverse poetry is.  Have students create their own reverse poetry.  Have students share.

Have the students choose one of the poems from the book to compare and contrast to one of the original or traditional telling’s of the story.

Students can illustrate opposing views from two main characters from one of the fairy tale poems.














References:

"Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer." PenguinRandomhouse.com. Accessed February 26, 2017. http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299895/mirror-mirror-by-marilyn-singer-illustrated-by-josee-masse/9780525479017/.

"Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer." Amazon Editorial Reviews. Accessed February 26, 2017. https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Book-Reverso-Poems/dp/0525479015/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1488144088&sr=8-2&keywords=mirror%2Bmirror.

Singer, Marilyn and Josée Masse. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2010.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Scorpio Races

Image
The Scorpio Races Bibliographic Information: Stiefvater, Maggie.  The Scorpio Races . New York: Scholastic, 2013. Plot Summary:   Every November the Scorpio races take place.   Tourists come from all over to the island of Thisby to watch riders mount their capaill uisce, magical water horses, and try to survive and win the Scorpio Races.   These water horses are deadly.   Their magic pulls them to the ocean where they want to take their mounts and drown them in the sea. The Scorpio Races are dangerous. Sean Kendrick watched his father die on a capaill uisce, and it is now his turn to race to win the water horse, Coll, that he has raised since it was a baby.   Since Sean lost his dad, he has been working for the Malverns to raise and breed horses.   Sean is known on the island for his unique abilities to deal with the capaill uisce.   Tensions rise between Kendrick and Malvern's son who is jealous of Sean.   Mr. Malvern makes a deal with Sean that if he wins on
Read more
Image
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: Book Review Bibliographic Information: Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic, 2007.   ISBN 0439819813786 Plot Summary: Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station in which he takes care of the clocks.   Stealthy Hugo must do what he has to in able to survive.   Hugo has one hope left: to repair an automated man that he believes may have a message from his late father.   With the help of a young girl, Hugo uncovers more secrets than he anticipated in this mysterious tale. Critical Analysis: The beginning of the book instantly takes you to a clear night in Paris.   The illustrations bring you to a bustling train station and introduce you to the stealthy Hugo.   Hugo sneaks his way around the station to his hiding place behind the walls.   The black and white illustrations set the mysterious mood and historical setting of 1930’s Paris.   The pictures help narrate the story as you follow Hugo on his jour
Read more
Image
Down Down Down a Journey to the Bottom of the Sea  By Steve Jenkins ISBN  0544709519 Bibliographical Information: Jenkins, Steve.  Down, Down, Down A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea . Boston New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. ISBN 0544709519. Plot Summary: In this book, Steve Jenkins takes us on a trip to the very bottom of the ocean.  “More humans have walked on the moon than have visited the deepest spot in the sea. (p.1, Jenkins)”.  Readers are taken on a visually stunning journey from the surface of the ocean down to the lowest depth.  Young readers can see what animals look like at each depth and what part of the ocean they are at on a scale at the side of each page.   Jenkins states in his introduction “In this book, we’ll descend from the sea’s surface to the sea floor and travel through one of the most extreme environments on earth.”  And what a journey it is! Critical analysis: Let’s talk about accuracy for a moment.  I am not a marine biologist or oc
Read more