Outside the Box: A Book of Poems

Children's Literature
- Ellen Welty
Fun poems and whimsical drawings make this collection (dedicated to Shel Silverstein) memorable and enjoyable for young readers as well as older ones. From concrete poems celebrating rain and gravity as well as selections about family and animals, there are more than one hundred poems in the collection. Children, parents, and teachers will all enjoy the read-aloud potential while budding poets might be inspired to try their hand at writing some of their own. Many of them are reminiscent of Jack Prelutsky, a perennial favorite among children, while others are more thought provoking. The longest one reminds readers of The Cat in the Hat and the shortest ones are merely couplets: "I have a little brother and I am not a fool.