TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS by Kristine O’Connell George; Ill. By Kate Kiesler

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. NewYork: Clarion. ISBN 061804597X

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this collection of poetry, George takes her readers on a family camping trip. The quirky and fun poems, along with the various shapes the words are formed in, paint a picture of all the happenings experienced while camping. The reader experiences building a tent, fishing, enjoying nature, and exploring the terrain. At the end, we see the family pack up and go home, excited about returning the following year.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This collection poems are reminiscent of childhood camping trips with the family. The illustrations used support the poems with colorful, full-page scenes of what the family is seeing and experiencing. The traditional typefont used throughout the book is a testament to this routine family trip. The words used are fun, mixing in sound words with the traditional speech. In the poem, “Sleeping Bag”, the narrator is struggling to change her clothes inside her zipped bag because she does not want to subject herself to the cold. George plays with the words and sounds in this poem, such as “I wriggle, scoootch,/ scrunch, and jiggle. Flop.” to emphasize the enjoyable struggle the narrator is going through.

The poems are placed one per page or page spread throughout the book. This style is similar to adolescents writing their poetry in a journal; one poem per page. Many poems are written with a traditional left justified design, though several take on the graphics of the page or subject matter. In the poem “Tent”, the words are arranged into a triangle shape, representing the tent that the family is building. The poem, “Storm” was written in the shape of a tornado. As one reads the poem, the eyes are forced in a left-motion, atypical of reading in our culture. This feels chaotic and uncomfortable, resembling the emotion of the storm.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “The poems are varied and inventive, replete with marvelous images and universal truths.”
BOOKLIST Starred review: “fine collection brings the outdoors up close...direct, satisfying poems that will engage kids at school, across the curriculum, or at home.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Ask children to share memories of their favorite family trips.
*Children can write and illustrate a poem from their favorite family trip or camping experience.
*Other engaging books of poetry about camping
Ruurs, Margriet. WHEN WE GO CAMPING. ISBN 0887766854
James, Helen Foster. S IS FOR S’MORES. ISBN 1585363022