The Horn Book Guide

LITERATURE

Venokur, Ross

Haiku! Gesundheit: An Illustrated Collection of Ridiculous Haiku Poetry

40 pp. | Simon | March, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-689-84044-6 $$10.00

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kenny Scharf. "Drill three holes in head. / Remove head from your body. / It's time to go bowl!" Using the haiku form (lines of five, seven, and five syllables) these purposefully goofy poems concern topics such as nose-picking, man-eating doughnuts, and dressing as a tuba for Halloween. A few are incisive or amusing, but many strain at the limitations of the format. Scharf's highly stylized color illustrations are in keeping with the book's humor.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta