Book Review: Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer

Bibliographic Citation:

Singer, Marilyn. 2010. Mirror Mirror. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Book. ISBN: 0525479015

Book Review:

Mirror Mirror is a treat for all, no wonder it was a nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award last year! This book of fairy tale poems by Marilyn Singer leaves the reader wanting more. I loved the creativity and uniqueness in each poem, and think that kids will absolutely love this book. The "reverso" poems are very different from any other poetry book. These 16 rhyming poems talk about famous fairy tales but they give two sides to each story. Each poem is read going down the page and then the poem is written from the bottom up from another perspective. Most of the poems are short which is good for young children. I highly encourage students of all ages to read this book and think this would be a great book to share in the classroom. 

Josee Masse's illustrations were dreamlike and were a perfect fit for Singers poems. The colors were vibrant, but did not detract from the poems on the opposite page. I liked how Masse did split pictures to depict both poems, it went great with Singer's reverso poems. For example, in the Doubtful Duckling half of the page shows a little ducking and the other half shows a beautiful swan. 

In the back of the book, Singer discusses what a reverso poem is and how she came up with this idea. I loved how she added this at the end, I felt that both students and teachers would benefit from this and it's cool to see how the author got started. If you are looking for a fun poetry book to read, then look no further. This book is a win win for everyone and will leave you wanting to read more reverso poems. Or better yet create your own!

Spotlight Poem:

In Reverse

Who 
says
it's true
down 
is 
the only view?
If you believe that, 
this poem
will challenge you.
Up 
is 
something new. 

Something new
is
up.
You 
will challenge
this poem
if you believe that
the only view
is 
down.
It's true.
Says 
who?

Activity: 

After reading the book Mirror Mirror, I think it would be a fun challenge for students to create their own reverso poetry. Students can choose any topic and it can be of any length. Once the kids create their reverso poem, they can draw a picture like Masse's that depicts both meanings of the poem. After the students create their poems and draw illustrations, you can turn their poems into a classroom reverso book.