Book cover accessed from: goodreads.com
Bibliographic data:
Grandits, John. (2004). TECHNICALLY, IT’S NOT MY FAULT. New York: Clarion Books. CL ISBN 0-618-42833-X/PA ISBN 0-618-50361-7
Summary:
Hilarious concrete poems that will take you through pictures, words, and patterns that are combined to captivate your imagination and make you laugh. Robert’s imagination takes us through the repetitive routine of his day, the explosion of his sister’s homework, and even “The Autobiography of Murray the Fart.”
Critical analysis:
The rhythms of the concrete poems are through the arrangement of the fonts, shape, texture, color, and sometimes motion. [9] Such as in “The Autobiography of Murray the Fart,” it is written in lines that come out of a block in the shape of a soda can, taking us through the twists and turns of the intestine, making poetry gross, but fun. The rhyme of the poems does not feel forced and word meaning is not sacrificed. Each word is carefully chosen for their individual and collective effects which add to the drama and arrangement of the poem. The words and phrases are chosen and arranged in vivid, meaningful ways that make you turn the book---or your mind---sideways and upside down to read them. [10] In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates and enhances the content of the poem creating surprising and unexpected visual images that grow from the creative and unique use of language. In “What Are You Thinking About, Robert?” thoughts in the form of sentences curl upwards from Robert’s open cranium, making it look like snakes or smoke curling out of his head. Through the series of concrete poems, John Gandits, creates poems with emotional impact (lots of laughter) making us feel what he might have felt in capturing the moment. The emotions depicted in the poems are natural. John Gandits’ book has many illustrations that balance his poems. In addition, his organization and design are quite eye catching. TECHNICALLY, IT’S NOT MY FAULT, also includes reference aids; footnotes are included in his “The Thank-You Letter1” poem. There is also background information on the poet and the software and fonts the poems were written in. These poems can be considered current or classic and have appeal to the audience; they had my 18 year-old son and me rolling with laughter.
Review excerpt(s):
BookList, 12/15/2004
Gr. 4-6. Grandits stretches the definition of concrete poetry in this collection, which uses inventive shapes and typefaces to hilarious effect. Each selection is loosely tied to Robert, a kid with ordinary concerns: homework is boring; he would like a new pet; he is crushed when he misses his lay-up in basketball. But Grandits finds wild humor in such things, and the resulting poems will make most kids howl with recognition. There's the pious thank-you letter to an aunt that comes with truthful footnotes: "In the history of sweaters, there has never been an uglier waste of yarn." Then there's the arc of text describing Robert's rocket, constructed from his sister's algebra homework, which showers numbers and mathematical symbols as the explosion hits. "The Autobiography of Murray the Fart," written in lines that flow from a soda can-shaped block to a thin line that turns into intestine like loops, will, like the other selections in this winning, highly creative collection, convince readers that poetry can be loud, outrageous, gross fun. -- Gillian Engberg. Booklist, published by the American Library Association. [1]
Publishers Weekly, 12/06/2004
This graphically inventive sequence of concrete poems, printed in red and black on white, mimes an 11-year-old's sarcastic perspective. The protagonist, Robert, opens with a poem in black type that traces the diameter of a clock; six words in red ink, roundabout the number seven, indicate the start and conclusion ("I wake up in the morning...") of a school-to-homework-to-bed cycle. The narrator's wry attitude becomes more apparent in a footnoted letter that dutifully thanks an aunt for a hated gift. "I'm already planning when to wear my new sweater," Robert writes, and only readers catch his footnoted subtext ("the next time you come to visit. I just hope nobody sees me"). The interrelated statements evolve from ridiculous daydreams and everyday pastimes alike. In one spread, Robert imagines a typographical wrestling match between the words "octopus" and "boa constrictor"; in a skateboarding story, his angled and twisting words leap invisible curbs on the bare white page, while red letters shout, "Hey kid!... Get outta here!" Knowing audience members will appreciate the scatological wit of poems like "Bloodcurdling Screams," where spiraling bright-red text ("...Ow Ow Ow Hoo Hoo...") suggests what happens when a brother flushes a toilet during his sister's shower. Grandits (Pictures Tell Stories ) weaves Robert's portrait in distorted letterforms, language mazes and comic first-person narration. A technically (and imaginatively) inspired typeface experiment. Ages 9-13. (Oct.) Publishers Weekly, A Reed Business Information Publication [1]
School Library Journal, 12/01/2004
Gr 4-8 –Grandits combines technical brilliance and goofy good humor to provide an accessible, fun-filled collection of poems, dramatically brought to life through a brilliant book design. The eye-catching title selection, an account of a science experiment gone astray, appears on the front cover and its messy aftermath, a squashed tomato, winds up on the back. Simple drawings, varied typefaces, unusual arrangements of text, and different colors are used to call attention to the words. Grandits crafts an 11-year-old protagonist, Robert, whose perspective throughout is authentically adolescent. He is both immature and intelligent, and delights in all things gross as can be seen in such offerings as "The Autobiography of Murray the Fart," "Spew Machine," and "Sick Day." "TyrannosaurBus Rex" features a predatory cartoon school bus munching its way along its route: "More children. More sacrifices./Yum." This book doesn't reach the masterful collaboration of Paul B. Janeczko and Chris Raschka's A Poke in the I (Candlewick, 2001), but most readers will still love it.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA School Library Journal, A Reed Business Information Publication [1]
Kirkus Reviews, 10/15/2004
Eleven-year-old Robert expresses himself—emphatically—through this series of concrete poems that emphasize visual over linguistic imagery. "My Stupid Day" appears as a circular recitation of an average school day arranged around a clock face; "Just Mow the Lawn" features graceful blades of grass formed by repetitions of "grass" on either side of a mown strip made up of vertical ouches. Robert emerges as the prototypical kids'-book kid: smart-mouthed, eternally at war with his sister, deeply in tune with the digestive process, and more interested in sports and video games than school. If he lacks individuality when stacked up against his literary peers, however, he makes up for this in typographical verve. Possibly the best piece is "Robert's Four At-Bats," in which the typeface flies, line-drives, grounds out bumpily, and then, in red, hits to right field where it is bobbled, allowing Robert to double and then to score around the infield diamond: "Cougars win!" An exuberant celebration of wordplay that's certain to broaden kids' understanding and appreciation of the possibilities of poetry. (Poetry. 9-13) Copyright 2004, VNU Business Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved [1]
Connections: [4]
Other books by John Grandits
· Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus
· The Travel Game
· Blue Lipstick
Awards: [4]
ALA Notable Book for ChildrenALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
Book Links Lasting Connection
Book Sense Top Ten Poetry List
CCBC Choice
NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
VOYA Poetry Pick
Young Hoosier (IN) Book Award Nominee
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