Lapidus Journal - Can It Be About Me?
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Autumn 2010, Volume 5 Issue 1
Book Reviews
Can It Be About Me?
Cheryl Moskowitz Circle Time press £5.99 ISBN 978-0-9564082-0-4
Reviewed by Wendy French
can it be about me? is a book of poems to delight all children and equally importantly it is a book that
encourages children to think, question and want to delve deeper into the meaning of relationships. In
other words each poem is carefully constructed so children will want to know more.
Moskowitz spent a year as a fly on the wall of a local primary school (year 3) and the book is an observation of the trials and
tribulations of children’s days at school. The poems centre on home, friends, playground games, classroom activities. Life in
a primary school is brought to the forefront of our minds even if we have not visited one for years. The poems are sensitively
written but truthful and Moskowitz captures the joys and pitfalls of growing up, forming relationships and the need to make
sense of an ever changing world.
Shadows drawn at noon
Were too small to stand inside
By going home time (from Topic Work in Science)
The book is attractively illustrated by Ros Asquith with humorous black and white drawings illustrating the poems. I
particularly like the one on page 70 with an aggravated teacher and a keen pupil. How often we’ve been there either as a
pupil or teacher!
On the left hand side of each page, in bold type to mark the difference between comments and poem, are teaching points or
comments to make the child think further about what is going on in the poem. These comments and statements help to bring
the poem to life as they push the child into further speculation.
Example, page 48, ‘Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt me...’
I’m not so sure that is always true. Some words can hurt.
But the right words can help you to feel better. The right words and a little help from friends.
Suggestion points are made for the teacher to introduce children to poetic forms such as the haiku, the cinquain and the
villanelle, and these are written in language to attract the child as well as the adult.
The poems are charged with situations familiar to all children:
What do I do when someone calls me stupid (for George) page 44
and My Corner page 43
I have a corner where I go...
What did you do your holiday, page 47, addresses the social differences in children’s backgrounds. It’s a moving poem
written from the point of view of a child who stayed at home for the summer when some of the class had been away to
exotic places. This poem provides an excellent starting point for conversation about difference and the important things in
life.
The poems in the book ignite curiosity. Young children want to know more about the circumstances surrounding the poem.
One child was particularly struck by New Kid, page 32. After I’d finished reading the poem to her, she thought for a few
minutes and then the questions came flooding in:
Why did Holly have to move?
Was she happy in her old school? Did she miss her friends?
Did her parents move with her?
What was the new kid like?
Will I have to move schools?
And what better way to stimulate a child’s imagination than to present them with a story that doesn’t provide all the answers
but provides an opportunity for young minds to realise there are often alternative endings.
I have worked with this book when I have been counselling individual children. It is an opportunity for a child to read and
discuss a poem in a safe environment and offers a space to think about school and relationships. The poems offer
opportunities to begin discussions about a child’s own worries or concerns. This is an imaginative resource book for
children, parents, teachers, poets and counsellors as a whole range of emotions are presented. It is also fun and can be
read for the fun element alone.
The book can help the school environment to become a friendlier, exciting place to be.
A must for every teacher’s bookshelf.
http://lapidusjournal.org/050106.php
27/03/2013
Lapidus Journal - Can It Be About Me?
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Wendy French trained as a teacher, counsellor and family therapist and now works in educational and
healthcare settings promoting the value of creative writing for personal development as well as art form in
its own right. She has two collections of poetry, surely you know this was published last year by Tall
Lighthouse press.
Copyright © 2011 Lapidus
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