Shakespeare Bats Cleanup -- Ron Koertge

Kevin Boland is a fantastic 14-year-old baseball player.  Until he gets mono.  His father, a writer, has always supported Kevin's sporty ways, but when the mono hits, he gives Kevin a notebook.  And look what happens:

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Why am I writing down the middle
of the page?

It kind of looks like poetry, but no way
is it poetry.  It's just stuff.

So I tiptoe into the den and cop this book
of Dad's.

It feels weird smuggling something about
poetry up to my room like it's the new
Penthouse.

But I don't want Dad to know what I'm
doing yet.  Even though I'm not doing
anything.  Not really.

I'm just going to fool around a little,
see what's what poetry-wise.

It has the basic same theme as Love that Dog--a boy learning to appreciate poetry--but geared towards older boys.  I liked it more than anything else I've read by Koertge.  The book just seemed more genuine, less forced, than Koertge's other books.  Kevin's growth as a poet and his revelations about poetry felt real.  I especially liked this:

Poetry is richer, kind of, like chocolate
milk versus skim milk.  They're both
nourishing, but chocolate milk
is just better. 

Comments

[lauren]

Wait, that's two books reviewed today that I read before you...what's going on?

[leila]

I'm trying to go back and hit ones that I missed. Or something.