Janeczko Collection — The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog — Janeczko and Jones

 

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems

Poems Selected by Paul B. Janeczko and Illustrated by Richard Jones

Bibliography:

Janeczko, P. B., & Jones, R. (2019). The proper way to meet a hedgehog: And other how-to poems. Candlewick Press.

Summary:

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems is a collection of poems from twenty-three different authors selected by Paul B. Janeczko, with illustrations provided by Richard Jones. There are a total of thirty-three poems, and each poem describes how to make distinctions or perform an activity.  

Analysis:

The overarching theme of this poetry collection is "how to...," but there are smaller groups of poems that share similar themes that create a less abrupt and jumbled flow than if they were thrown in randomly. For example, the sports poems — Table Tennis Triolet, Basketball Rule #2, and How to Ride a New Bike — are grouped together, and so are the ones about accessible languages — A Lesson from the Deaf and How to Read Braille. The idea of Janeczko's collection is clearly established in the title of the book itself and remains present in each poem.

Jones's illustration style is very serene and does not distract the reader from the poetry itself. The images tend to focus more on larger landscapes and moments rather than individual characters. Each illustration brings a nice balance to the page. They do not detract or distract from the poems themselves, and they do well at creating a visual representation to add to the readers' experience. 

Excerpt:

A Lesson From the Deaf

by Nikki Grimes

First, sweep one hand

up to your mouth, 

as if to blow a velvet kiss.

Like this.

Second, drop that hand 

into the other,

crisscross, open palms staring

at the sky.

Do you see?

How your clever hands

create a butterfly?

(Think of shadows

you shape upon a wall at night.

But this is more than play.)

Stand before someone

who has been kind to you.

Follow steps one and two,

and without breathing a word,

your "thank you" will be heard. 

Activity Idea:

The whole book is a collection of "how to's," but I like the specific instructions for how to sign "thank you" to someone. Using the excerpt above would be be a good introduction to some basic signs. It could be a one-off event that does a rundown of "baby signs," like "thank you," "more," "hungry," "all done," etc., or you could turn it into a weekly program where attendees will learn 5-10 new signs every week.