Nothing Beats a Pizza

February 1, 2002
Gr 3-6-Lesynski is back again with her offbeat sense of humor, this time with a subject sure to appeal to kids-pizza. Problems with teachers, classmates, pets, and feelings are also included in rhyme, free verse, or rap. Most pages have ideas for creative activities that can be paired with the poems, making the book a useful addition for poetry units. The pages are filled with lighthearted illustrations that Lesynski states were done in "colored pencil, watercolor, house paint, tomato sauce, eyeshadow, rubber stamp-pad ink, and ordinary pencil." With that kind of creativity, it's easy to see how this book might stimulate students' imaginations and inspire them to write their own original creations. While this isn't Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein, the verse will run a close second with reluctant readers or with anyone who enjoys zany, gooey, and sometimes downright revolting rhymes. Great poems for reading aloud with pizzazz.-Laurie Edwards, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2002
Thirty-four unashamedly sophomoric poems that take school as a loose focus are interspersed with even more doggerel about pizza, as in "Mock Pizza: Imitation mozzarella / powdered pepperoni / the crust is just like cardboard so / you know the dough is phony." Colorful illustrations on pages cramped with poems in varying font sizes lend additional silliness to the collection. Despite, or maybe because of its goofiness, this collection might be inspirational for kids showing no interest in poetry.

(Copyright 2002 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)