Free Choice: Please Bury Me in the Library

Bibliography:

Lewis, Patrick. 2005. Please Bury Me in the Library. Ill. Stone, Kyle M. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152163875

Review:

Please Bury Me in the Library is a book of 15 poems all about readers and reading. Of course, as a new librarian, the title caught my attention immediately. (My husband has always said my second home is the library.) After reading the title I was absorbed into the beautiful illustrations done by Kyle M. Stone. Mr. Stone makes his picture book debut in this beautiful book. The illustrations are done in acrylic paint and mixed media on hotpress watercolor paper. Although his work seems a little dark they are filled with vivid colors and light. The images seem to come straight from the mind of a child which makes them intriguing. In addition, the illustrations made me think of other classic books such as Alice in Wonderland (see A Classic pg. 14). Indeed, J. Patrick Lewis, in his acknowledgement at the end of the book states that he “owes a debt to Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and has been influenced by Silverstein, Prelutsky and Cohn”.

The poems are in several poetic styles: haiku, free verse, rhyming verse and even an acrostic poem about-you guessed it- libraries. The poems are concrete, children will understand most, and the illustrations will give a clue as to the inspiration of that particular poem. Word play and humor abound but some of the poems are serious and could lead to great classroom discussion.

Poem Selection:

The first poem is one of my favorite. This thought provoking poem is a great way to get student talking about books. To introduce this poem, first read it without showing the picture. Read it again and ask students to take notes listing all of the books it makes them think of. After the writing activity, show students the illustration and see how many connections to the books on their list that they can make. Finish the poetry break by asking students to create their own “different names” for books and have them illustrate their favorite.

What if Books had Different Names?

What if books had different names

Like Alice in …Underland?

Furious George,

Goodnight Noon,

Barbar the Beaver, and

A Visit from Saint Tickle Us,

Or Winnie-the –Pooh, Pooh-Poohs,

The Walrus and the Carp and Her.

The Emperor Has No Clues,

Or Mary Had a Little Clam,

And how about Green Eggs and Spam?

Well, surely you can think of one.

Oh, what extraordinary, merry

Huckleberry Fun!

Extensions:

Here is a document that will give you great ideas on sharing this book with students.

http://www.roundrockisd.org/docs/please_bury_me.pdf