Technically, It's Not My Fault by John Grandits

Image Credit: borders.com.au

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grandits, John. 2004. Technically, It’s Not My Fault. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 061842833X

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This compilation of concrete poems written by John Grandits is a visual pleasure to thumb through and an entertaining work to read. Robert, the eleven year old narrator, describes different events in his daily life through the various hilarious poems. “My Stupid Day,” “Sleepover Conversation,” and “It’s Not Fair” are just a few of the fun poem titles. Robert writes about his sister, his bus rides, skateboarding, mowing the lawn, pizza, pets, baseball, and more subjects that most children will recognize.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Through the use of assorted fonts, different colors of ink, and simple illustrations, John Grandits creates a free verse poetry book that is pure fun to peruse. Each page is unique. The text takes on a life of its own since the printed words form pictures and patterns that reflect or define each poem. Children in upper elementary school and middle school will delight in turning the book around as they unravel the words in many of these humorous poems. In his poem called “The Lay-Up”, for example, the words are printed in a zigzag fashion that resembles a bouncing basketball. Then a shot is made so the words go up to form a hoop and then spiral around and around the rim until the ball unfortunately bounces out so the words fall down, and no points are scored. Another poem entitled “The Thank-You Letter” includes interesting footnotes that only the readers can see.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “Grandits combines technical brilliance and goofy good humor to provide an accessible, fun-filled collection of poems”
KIRKUS – “An exuberant celebration of wordplay that's certain to broaden kids' understanding and appreciation of the possibilities of poetry.”
BOOKLIST – “Grandits stretches the definition of concrete poetry in this collection, which uses inventive shapes and typefaces to hilarious effect.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – “A technically (and imaginatively) inspired typeface experiment.”

5. CONNECTIONS
• This book could be used as an example of one type of poetry in a general study of poetry.
• It could also be used along with other concrete poetry books:
Grandits, John. BLUE LIPSTICK: CONCRETE POEMS. ISBN 9780618568604
Janeczko, Paul B. A POKE IN THE I. ISBN 0763606618
Franco, Betsy. A CURIOUS COLLECTION OF CATS: CONCRETE POEMS. ISBN 9781582462486