Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Singer, Marilyn. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2010.  ISBN 0525479015

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This is a unique thematic collection of poems that are written in such a way where the reader can read them from top to bottom or in reverse, from bottom to top, for a different twist. They tell the stories of some of the most beloved fairy tale characters including Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Goldilocks to name a few. The pairs of poems are intriguing and tell the stories of both the protagonist”s and antagonist’s perspectives depending on which way they are read. For example, one poem is written from Rumpelstiltskin’s point of view while its counterpart tells the story of the miller’s daughter.  These clever lines and the beautiful illustrations that accompany each pair of poems create a thought provoking book that readers of almost all ages will understand and enjoy.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is filled with an unusual type of poem known as reverso that was created by the author. Due to the unique nature of being able to read the poems both up and then down, the poems do not contain a rhyming pattern or have a natural rhythm. Instead, a reader is required to pay careful attention to punctuation and line breaks in order to have the correct phrasing and prosody while reading the poem. The words, themselves, are carefully chosen and crafted into appropriate line breaks to allow for the reversibility of the poem from two different perspectives. For example, in the poem “Have Another Chocolate” the lines chosen from the witch’s perspective read “Fatten up/Don’t/Keep her waiting,” but when read in reverse, those same words “Keep her waiting/Don’t/Fatten up” become a warning from the sister to the brother to keep the boy from being eaten.

The beautiful, full page illustrations in this book are filled with bold and vivid colors. If a reader is unsure who is giving voice to the poem, they need only to examine the picture to determine the answer. The illustration that accompanies the poem “Bears in the News” is a great example of the different perspectives portrayed within the poem. One side shows a surprised Goldilocks with large bear shaped shadows on the wall, while the other side shows the surprised bears along with the back of Goldilocks’ head, a perfect portrayal of the author’s words.

These poems are summed up in one word, mesmerizing. While they appear to be rather basic, the challenge of creating these poems requires a skill that most authors would find incredibly challenging. Readers are intrigued, and I, for one, spent a lot of extra time rereading the words and analyzing the content from both perspectives. Poetry is all about interpretation and analysis, and this book allows a reader to think deeply and “reflect.”

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

2012 BLUEBONNET AWARD NOMINEE

Washington Post Top 15 Children’s Book of the Year

Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year

New York Public Library Best 100 Children’s Book of the Year

From Publisher’s Weekly: "Masse’s clever compositions play with symmetry, bringing this smart concept to its fullest effect.

From School Library Journal, starred review: “This appealing collection based on fairy tales is a marvel to read….The vibrant artwork is painterly yet unfussy and offers hints to the characters who are narrating the poems. This is a remarkably clever and versatile book that would work in any poetry or fairy-tale unit. A must-have for any library”

From Kirkus: “A mesmerizing and seamless celebration of language, imagery and perspective.”

From Booklist: “This ingenious book of reversos…toys with and reinvents oh-so-familiar stories and characters, from Cinderella to the Ugly Duckling... Matching the cleverness of the text, Masse’s deep-hued paintings create split images that reflect the twisted meaning of the irreverently witty poems and brilliantly employ artistic elements of form and shape—Cinderella’s clock on one side morphs to the moon on the other. A must-purchase that will have readers marveling over a visual and verbal feast.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Gather other poetry books by Singer such as:

•                      Follow Follow. ISBN 0803737696

•                      Rutherford B., Who was He?: Poems About our Presidents. ISBN 1423171004

•                      Sky Words. ISBN 0027828824

Gather other books that include unique or inventive poetry such as:

•                      Clements, Andrew. Dogku. ISBN 9780689858239

•                       Scieskza, Jon. Science Verse ISBN 0670910570

•                      Raczka, Bob. Lemonade: and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word. ISBN 9781250018946

Have students attempt their own reverso poem on a topic in another content area.