"Oh Mother, I am Blue Today"
by Jack Prelutsky
from A Pizza the Size of the Sun
"Oh , Mother, I am blue today,
I don't know why or how.
There's never been another child
as blue as I am now."
"I see you're blue," my mother said,
"and this is what I think-
if you would rather not be blue,
don't bathe again in ink."
When I read this poem it made me smile because I was not really having a good day. It made me laugh and caused me to see things in a brighter light. I think that children would enjoy this poem because it uses a play on words with the word "blue". When you begin reading the poem, you think that the child is talking about the fact that they are sad, but in actuality they are talking about the color blue. I think that it would be fun to talk to your class about how words that look the same can often have different meanings. This poem also has simple rhyming in it that makes the poem flow well. For example, the poet rhymes "how" with "now" and "think" with "ink." Kids of all ages could easily come up with their own lists of words that rhyme and incorporate them into a poem using the structure that Jack Prelutsky demonstrates. I think that the humor in Jack Prelutsky's poems are the main thing that attracts children to them. It is important for students to see that poetry comes in all different forms, and that its okay for it to be funny!