Poetry by J. Patrick Lewis

A World of Wonders

Lewis, J. Patrick. A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme. Ill. by Alison Jay. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. 2002.

ISBN: 0803725795

About the Book:

Lewis will take you on a journey around the world to discover various geographic concepts. First take a look at the voyage of Christopher Columbus in an acrostic poem. Discover the answer to questions about the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. Readers will get to explore major geographic locations and also gain exposure to the people who first explored them.

Critical Analysis:

A World of Wonders targets elementary aged children. Some information will be new to readers, while some readers will enjoy more familiar content because of the unique presentation of information.

The words in the book are written in a clever way, and rather than evoke emotion, they enable readers to remember valuable content and vocabulary. For example, when Lewis writes “lines of latitude have a flatitude,” readers will hold onto the meaning of latitude because of the clever rhyme. Although some words seem a little forced because of the rhyme, it works out in helping children to remember particular concepts. It also adds a spice of humor at times, which seems to lighten the tone for a book about geographic concepts.

The illustrations will hold the attention of young readers, as there are a lot of details to look at on the pages. The tones of the images reflect a map and give the pictures an old-world feel.

Awards & Reviews:

Recently named U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate author

NCTE Award winning author

“[A] witty and fact-filled collection of poems”--Publishers Weekly

Connections:

*Read poems that pertain to concepts you are covering as the introduction to the lesson.

*Identify geographic vocabulary in the book and use the images written in the poems to define the terms with words or a picture.

*Choose an explorer named in the book and do some additional research.