Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It, Gail Carson Levine

This is a book of poetry modeled after William Carlos Williams' poem called "This Is Just to Say", which is one of my favorite poems.  This book is a hoot!  The subtitle is false apology poems, and I'm going to give you a teaser of just one.

This is Just to Say
I have shortened
my nose
with your saw

because
honestly
telling lies
is so much more fun

Forgive me
I don't care
about becoming
a real boy

Know what that's referring to?  If you guessed Pinocchio, you're right.  If you got it wrong, it's only because you didn't see the picture in the book.  If you saw the drawing accompanying the poem, surely you'd have gotten it right.   Matthew Cordell illustrates the poems, and the drawings are as fun and whimsical as the poems themselves.  Many of them refer to nursery rhymes or fairy tales, but others do not.  I especially loved the Little Red Riding Hood poem and the Humpty Dumpty one.

Gail Carson Levine gives a little lesson on how to write these formulaic poems about 1/3 of the way into the book, where she also "sneaks" her introduction poem.  This would be a fun, fun book to use with a class or on your own to practice writing some false apologies.  You never know, they might come in handy sometime!! 

It was an excellent book to snuggle up with on the couch today, this rainy, ugly, SO not summer day, but it will be just as fun in the bright sunshine.  You could sit outside and read it, then write some of your own while you soak up the Vitamin D. Enjoy!