Giant Children

Publishers Weekly

This deliciously over-the-top poetry collection explores the nerve-wracking world of school-age children. The narrator of the opening titular poem is the classroom hamster: "Pages turn at giant speed/ As giant children learn to read." Bagert's (Chicken Socks: And Other Contagious Poems) uncomplicated style of verse addresses such diverse topics as sibling feuds and wild imaginations, monster trucks and the Tooth Fairy, as it humorously handles the more anxious side of growing up, including the mixed blessing of landing the lead in the school play. Arnold's signature style seems particularly well suited to the stage-frightened fellow waiting in the wings ("So here I am on stage,/ And the play's about to start./ My life was so much simpler/ Before I got this part"). The squiggling lines seem to indicate the actor's nerves gone haywire. Bagert delivers the requisite gross-out with "Booger Love" (complete with warning label that the poem "not, under any circumstances, be recited to a grown-up!"). The characters' pop-eyes sitting atop oversize heads help express the ever-changing emotions of childhood. Arnold selects just the right moment in each poem to dramatize and his exaggerated portraits help readers focus on the hyperbole of the poetry. A funny peek at the pleasures and (growing) pains of childhood. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Colored-pencil art with watercolor washes provides simple yet hilarious interpretation of Bagert's mixed bag of poems. Bookended by selections narrated by a class hamster (thus the title verse), the poet explores home and school life, from a teacher in a hula skirt and baby brother's diapers to imagination and dreams. Of the 23 offerings, few miss the mark as entertainment or food for thought. Be aware that "Booger Love" explores every possible nasty application. Kids will automatically memorize these offerings and soon believe a line from "The Buffalo in the Library," "-poetry is the food I need/To feed my hungry head."-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Bagert’s (Rainbows, Head Lice, and Pea Green Tile, not reviewed, etc.) collection of children’s poetry is a devilishly funny lot that connects to situations familiar to all young readers, the ones the classroom hamster believes to be giants. Each poem recognizes the ordinary and bizarre events that children experience with rhythmic references to the frustration and anger at a no-show tooth fairy, the pain from a scratch on the knee, and the fear of school performances, this work in verse captures the emotions, reactions, and imaginations of a child. While some poems are devious (Booger Love) and some are motivating (Bad Words: "I can’t"), all are true-to-life and sure to please. Arnold’s (More Parts, 2001, etc.) trademark characters are Simpsons-like, with large heads, bulging eyes, and square pants. Each image is a perfect companion for the text and helps emphasize the humor. The art is a bright, watercolor wash accentuated with small whimsical squiggles from colored pencils creating a pattern that gives visual texture. Both the poetry and the artwork conspire to make this piece enormously entertaining and rich with wicked humor. (Poetry. 4-8)