LitPick Review
Author Daniel Garcia Ordaz recalls that his father would walk into a room, say something funny, and then exit the room. This made the author realize at a young age that laughter is always the best medicine no matter how hard a situation might be. This prompted him to write some of the poems included in this children’s book because his inspiration happened at a truly tragic time in his life. His brother Max was tragically killed in a car crash, and Garcia Ordaz decided to write silly poems as a way that helped him release his sorrow and also helped him to heal from the loss of his brother. A large majority of these poems were written at that time and more poems were added in years later.
These unique poems all contain information that will make you laugh, make you learn, and even make you think. He strongly encourages his young readers to be sure to look up any words they may not know and tells them to try to figure out the meaning by how it’s used in the context of the sentence.
Opinion:
There were a few things that really stuck out to me with this children’s poetry book. The first being that the poems were about varying topics and had a fun rhyming cadence to them that aids in pulling you deeper into each one you’re reading. These poems are the perfect ones to read out loud to get the full effect of how silly and fun each one truly is. There were even times when the author made up words just to have them rhyme and even though the words were fictitious, each one ironically fit that poem perfectly. Also, scattered throughout, you’ll find wonderful imagery within his word choice. There are puns, word repetitions, and a play on words specifically chosen to enhance each poem. Another special factor about this children’s poetry book was that he wrote the poems in English and then translated them to Spanish. I felt this made these poems even more inclusive to children who might not be proficient enough to read them in English.
Still another feature I noticed was that Garcia Ordaz would ask the reader questions for them to think about before reading each poem. An example is in his poem “A Purple Cow” when he asked the readers what their favorite animal was and even suggested drawing that animal to add to the fun of reading that poem. In doing things like this, it made the reader become more engaged and involved in wanting to read that poem.
One poem, “What To Say Monday Mornings,” had me laughing hysterically as I was reading it. It contained a list of silly excuses to tell your parents of why you can’t go to school that day such as “I’ve got a boo-boo on my toes!” or “I’ve got big zits on my nose!” Each one is an extremely over-exaggerated excuse to use to get out of going to school that day. I’m sure children will find themselves laughing out loud with all the excuses mentioned in this poem. I can tell you as an adult, I couldn’t stop laughing at the silliness of each excuse he came up with.
Another poem I just adored reading was “Books I Would Never Read.” Each fictitious book title the author came up with was so humorous, and you had to pay close attention to his wording to understand the true hidden meaning of each title because they were riddled with endless puns. Examples were "Keeping Kitchen Counters Clean" by Sal Minella, or "How To Pass All Your Quizzes" by Studd E. Moore. Each title provided plenty of laughs for his readers to enjoy.
The illustrations that were scattered throughout this book were provided by Joshua Garcia Steinbrunner, a young family member of the author’s. The pictures were the perfect accompaniment because they further told a specific poem’s story. The artist hand-drew the pictures, and the first thing that I noticed about these drawings was that they definitely displayed the budding talent of this young artist. I’m sure we will see his name as an accomplished artist in the near future.
A few tidbits I found out about Garcia Ordaz was that he has a fun and very distinctive nickname that’s worth mentioning. He is called The Poet Mariachi and is a Texas-based teacher and bestselling author. His work has been taught and written about by academics throughout the U.S. and abroad. Interestingly enough, he is also a singer/songwriter and a former journalist.
On a final note, Read Until You Bleed by Daniel Garcia Ordaz is one book that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. There are poems to tickle everyone’s fancy, and it comes highly recommended by this reviewer!
