Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions

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Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions

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Overview

What superstitions do you follow?
In this collection of original poems, accomplished poet Janet S. Wong explores seventeen superstitions, some common, others that are less known, and delves into their origins as well as their lore. Rich, full-color illustrations by Julie Paschkis enhance each poem.
The result from this award-winning team is sure to intrigue young readers and make them think again about things they often do, like opening an umbrella, walking under a ladder, or putting on a hat!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689855122
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	09/01/2003
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Janet S. Wong is the author of more than a dozen picture books and poetry collections. Her work includes Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions, both illustrated by Julie Paschkis, as well as Grump, a Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Book, illustrated by John Wallace. Janet lives with her family in Medina, Washington.

Julie Paschkis is a painter and award-winning illustrator of many children’s books, including Flutter and Hum / Aleto y Zumbido, P. Zonka Lays an Egg, and Apple Cake: A Love Story. A love of pattern and of folk art shows in all her work. She lives in Seattle, Washington. Visit her online at JuliePaschkis.com.

	Cat	1
	Clover	3
	Ears	5
	Garlic	7
	Hair	9
	Hat	11
	Horseshoe	13
	Key	15
	Ladder	17
	Ladybug	19
	Mirror	21
	Potatoes	23
	Rooster	25
	Salt	27
	Thirteen	29
	Umbrellas	31
	Wood	33
	About the Superstitions	34
	Author's Note	36

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

The team behind Night Garden pair up again for Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions by Janet S. Wong, illus. by Julie Paschkis. A few poems may require reading the explanation of the superstition first, but the best dig into the spirit of the superstitions, as in "Umbrellas": "The ghost of my grandfather came by for an apple/ and a cup of coffee, once./ If I knew he would come to visit again,/ I would open both our umbrellas now and wait-/ and we would walk in this rain." The real star is Paschkis's illustrations, which conjure a dreamlike world. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Why should you never open an umbrella inside the house? You shouldn't because, according to folklore, ghosts hide under umbrellas. In this collection of seventeen original poems, the author depicts well-known as well as more obscure superstitions in a light-hearted way. From black cats to four-leaf clovers, from an itchy ear to the reason people say "knock on wood," the author gives young readers an appreciation for symbols of good and bad luck. Following the main text, the author includes more background about each of the superstitions she discusses in her poems. The illustrator's full-color folk art motifs, set off by the use of lively background borders, give the book a medieval and yet timeless, magical feel to inspire the reader's imagination. The collection pairs well with Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and an NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts, which was written and illustrated by the same award-winning team. 2003, Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, Ages 7 to 10.
— Valerie O. Patterson

Children's Literature

Gr 3-5-Itchy ears, broken mirrors, and hats worn backward join wood spirits, ghosts, and of course black cats in this imaginative exploration of common and lesser-known superstitions. The shapely poems are infused with fey intimations in keeping with the collection's theme: "It is said/salt is magic. The pure kind, sea crystals./Spilled salt is magic flung wild." Some selections are haunting, and some humorous, as in this glimpse of a vampire's downfall: "All you bloodsuckers,/this is your last chance:/I am one bite/away-/from a hunk/of Mother's famous garlic chunk chicken." Paschkis creates an exquisite backdrop for the verses. Presented on a panoramic spread, each poem and facing watercolor scene have matching frames, anchoring them as reflections of one another. Some of the borders are abstract designs, but others are suggestive of elements in the verses. For example, "Potatoes" is contained inside a lumpy oval. Adept at both storytelling and design, the illustrator places the text and picture blocks against a wonderful montage of images in tones of a single color. Children of varied ethnicities and time periods are cast in fanciful folk-art scenes. Humor, satire, subplots, historic references, and decorative and surreal elements abound in artful profusion. There is much to ponder in both words and pictures. Some of the children depicted suggest a young audience, but the mixed poetic/visual brew is sophisticated. The author includes brief comments about the featured superstitions and a note reflecting on her personal experience in this area.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

So, does wearing one's hat backwards bring good luck or bad? What, if anything, do itchy ears, or a broken mirror, portend? In 17 short poems, alphabetically arranged, Wong ruminates lightheartedly on superstitions both common and less well-known, from that ominous black cat or the supposed effects of garlic-"All you bloodsuckers / this is your last chance: / I am one bite / away- / from a hunk / of Mother's famous garlic chunk chicken"-to the spirits that purportedly dwell in trees and umbrellas. Paschkis frames each poem, and a playful, stylized illustration opposite, with swirling monochrome borders made of mirror-image motifs; the effect is both eye-filling and a touch mystical. Wong gets into the spirit of things by slipping in a newly minted superstition-"Stand bareheaded in the rain / to cure a baldness of the brain"-then closing with a spread of tongue-in-cheek commentary and a personal source note. Poet and illustrator both capture just the right tone to keep young readers from taking the topic too seriously-knock on wood. (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions

Knock on Wood: Poems About Superstitions

Hardcover

Hardcover

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Overview

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About the Author

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

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Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

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