YOU READ TO ME, I'LL READ TO YOU: VERY SHORT STORIES TO READ TOGETHER by Mary Ann Hoberman

Bibliography

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2001. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together. Ill. Michael Emberley. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Critical Analysis

Hoberman's poems in this collection are a great way to have fun with poetry. The poems are silly and playful. They have a simple rhythm that is easy to keep going. This is especially important when two readers are working together to make a piece sound cohesive. Because these poems were written to be ready by two people, they have a conversational feel. This makes the poems feel very relaxed and easy to understand. They subject matter ranges from animals to friends to talking on the phone - ordinary subject matters that children can relate to.

The illustrations are well done and keep with the playful mood set by the tone of the poems. They tend to highlight some of the more far-fetched ideas in the poems.

Example

This book of poems is perfect for early readers, but could be used with any age depending on the purpose. With older students, it would make a great example for a different type of poetry that they could then work on to create their own. For the younger readers, I think this is a great way to incorporate buddy reading in the classroom. Pairing students with one being a stronger reader and the other who struggles gives a simple and effective way to have the stronger reader help and guide the straggler.

The poem that I picked to share would be a great way to partner up students to read and share their poem, but then add their own section by talking about what they like that is different and finding something they have in common. It would be a great activity to use at the beginning of the year.

I Like

I like soda.

                I like milk.

I like satin.

                I like silk.

I like puppies.

                I like kittens.

I like gloves.

                And I like mittens.

I like apples.

                I like pears.

I like tigers.

                I like bears.

I like to slide.

                I like to swing.

        We don't agree

        On anything!

I like butter.

                I like jam.

I like turkey.

                I like ham.

I like rivers.

                I like lakes.

I like cookies.

                And I like cakes.

I like yellow.

                I like blue.

I like pizza.

                I like stew.

I like summer.

                I like spring.

        We don't agree

        On anything!

There's something else

I like a lot.

But if I like it,

You will not.

                There's something else

                That I like, too.

                But you won't like it

                If I do.

Tell me yours

And I'll tell mine.

                I like reading.

                Reading's fine!

You like reading?

                Yes, I do.

Why, reading was

What I picked, too!

        Well, then, at last

        We both agree!

        I'll read to you!

        You'll read to me!