Please Bury Me in the Library Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Please Bury Me in the Library. Ill. by Kyle M. Stone. Orlando, FL: Gulliver Books Harcourt, Inc. (USA).   ISBN 0-15-216387-5

Summary

Poet J. Patrick Lewis’ poetry compilation, Please Bury Me in the Library, is a hilarious book filled with clever wordplay and eccentric language. With a mixture of poetry forms, this picture poetry book is filled with sixteen poems about the joys of literature and reading. Children’s book artist, Kyle M. Stone, creates vivid, colorful yet somewhat somber pictures. He uses acrylic and mixed media to illustrate images that mirror the whimsical poems, showing expressive and comical characters.

Critical Analysis

Filled with wit and wordplay, poet J. Patrick Lewis’ Please Bury Me in the Library provides an offbeat journey about reading and libraries. He includes many forms of short poems from haiku, acrostic, quatrain, couplet to free verse. Many of his poems offer creative puns, nonsensical lines and rich vocabulary. The use of rhyme is present in almost every poem adding juvenile humor geared toward young readers. Lewis carefully combines many elements of poetry including personification, alliteration, assonance, and consonance throughout his poems. His word selection offers rhythm that lead readers away from reality and into a creative world of reading adventures.

Young children will surely enjoy listening to Please Bury Me in the Library being read aloud. Older children will appreciate the carefully chosen words and skillfully crafted puns. So, don’t be surprised if, when you read this book aloud, you hear snickering and laughter from your audience young and old.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist: “Despite the picture-book format, it will take children older than the preschool crowd to appreciate the wordplay, which on occasion is quite sophisticated (Lewis credits Lear, Carroll, and X. J Kennedy as his inspirations).”

From Children’s Literature: “For a wild and whimsical time, let acclaimed poet J. Patrick Lewis accompany your kids on their next book-borrowing trip. Please Bury Me in the Library gathers 15 poems about the magic and mayhem of books.”

From School Library Journal:  “Usually printed one per spread, the poems are accompanied by richly dark artwork. The thickly applied acrylic paint and mixed-media illustrations are sometimes reminiscent of the work of David Shannon, with a comically grotesque air, and add comprehension to the verses.”

Connections

• Use Please Bury Me in the Library to provide examples when teaching students about puns and creative writing.
• Librarians can select poems to use as an introduction to a library lesson or library orientation.
• Use the poem “Three Haikus” to provide students with examples of Haiku. Students can write their own Haiku poems.
• Students can practice reading selected poems to build reading fluency.
• Use this book as an opportunity to teach new vocabulary words: extraordinary, epitaph, unsurpassed, devoted, incomprehensibly, homing device, amuse.
• Discuss the plays on words made with book titles in “What If Books Had Different Names?” and see if students can identify each title.
• Students can write their own acrostic poems.
• Discuss the last poem, “Acknowledgments,” and expose students to each author mentioned. Discuss possible reasons why these authors are being acknowledged.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.