Review of TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS by Kristine O'Connell George

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS. Ill. By Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 016804597

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This collection of camping poems, include 30 poems, with each poem illustrated. The poems cover almost anything that might be done or seen during a family camping trip. The family consists of a girl, her brother, mother, father, and the family dog. The poetry collection begins with a poem about putting up the tent, seeing a deer, and the first night around a campfire. It goes on to poems about the next morning, and activities enjoyed the next day. The poems go through the day and night camping activities of a few days. The book concludes with a poem about taking down the tent and stowing away an old shirt, so the character can remember the smells and fun of that trip.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This collection of poetry brings all the wonderful sensations of a family camping trip to life. The book includes 30 poems, that cover the whole spectrum of camping activities and experiences. The book includes no Table of Contents, which would have been great for looking up a certain poem, since the book is 48 pages long and made for impatient children.

The illustrations were done in acrylic paint, and are beautiful and realistic. The text and illustrations will take you away to your childhood, when happiness could be achieved by just experiencing nature. The text placement also enhances the book. The first poem about putting up the tent, has the text alignment forms a triangle, to look like a tent. This is done in several poems throughout the book.

I think it would have been great if the author had included some background about her camping experiences and why she wrote the book. I think it would have been great if she had included some favorite recipes her family made and ate by the campfire for students to try.


4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW:
“Kindergarten-Grade 4-George has penned 30 sublimely simple poems that capture the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of a family's camping trip, from pitching the tent to pulling up stakes and returning home. All of the selections convey a child-focused sense of wonder as the campers explore the lakefront and surrounding terrain, enjoy the marvels of the natural world, relish meals round the campfire, and toast marshmallows ("This is art-/a time of serious reflection/as my pillowed confection/slowly reaches golden perfection"). The poems are varied and inventive, replete with marvelous images and universal truths.”

HORN BOOK REVIEW:
“The pleasure and surprise of going camping are conveyed in eighteen brief poems. . . .Richly colored paintings enhance the verses.”

5. CONNECTIONS

It would be great fun to have a “Camping Day,” in the library or classroom. Make a fake campfire or pitch or make a tent, read the poems, read other storybooks about camping, and tell our favorite scary stories. This would be a great time of year for this, with Halloween approaching.

Another great activity would be to find a camping cookbook. You could read the recipes and make something from the cookbook, and eat while reading TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS.

Students could write a poem about a favorite vacation, going to the beach, going to visit relatives, and you could put all the student’s works together, and name it, OUR VACATION BOOK OF POETRY. Students could also write several poems and author their own individual poetry books. Students could also illustrate their camping poems for the book.

You could read other poetry books on camping and compare and contrast the different activities each poet chose to write about. After discussion, students could come up with other activities that weren’t covered in other books. Why do you think the activities weren’t included?