• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 4 to 7

In this charming picture book allegory of the creative writing process, happenstance and weather events symbolize the emotional ebb and flow of writing a poem.

I had a poem in my pocket, but my pocket got a rip. Rhymes tumbled down my leg and trickled from my hip.

Thus begins the journey of a young poet's words out into the world, where they join randomly with other words to form funny riffs and puns all over a busy city street. The child scrambles to capture the loose words and arrange them back into poem form, only to lose them again as a storm swoops in on a rushing wind. Eventually, the words plant themselves in the muddy ground, where they grow into something that might be even better than the original poem: a Poet-Tree.

Not only a fanciful rhyming adventure tale, Chris Tougas's picture book is also a delightful allegory for the creative writing process. Perfect for classroom discussions about the emotional ups and downs of writing, this highly innovative book celebrating poetry and creativity is an excellent choice for National Poetry Month. It also showcases the magic of language and how much fun words can be. High-energy artwork by Josée Bisaillon is so full of words in flight and at play that children can pore over it again and again, and in the final spread, readers can search for rhyming pairs. An afterword discusses National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket Day. This is a book that adult writers will also appreciate.

Chris Tougas is a writer-illustrator who loves dogs, the great outdoors, writing fun stories and making art. He has studied art and animation in both Canada and the United States, and has worked in film animation at Disney and other studios. Chris now lives and works in Victoria, British Columbia. His previous works before Dojo Daycare and Dojo Daytrip include Mechanimals (Orca 2007) and ART SUPPLIES (Orca 2008).

Chris Tougas' profile page

Jos&eacutee Bisaillon a illustr&eacute plus de trente-cinq livres pour enfants et cr&eacute&eacute de nombreuses illustrations pour des magazines et des journaux. Elle a &eacutet&eacute finaliste au Prix litt&eacuteraire du Gouverneur g&eacuten&eacuteral &agrave deux reprises et a remport&eacute le prestigieux Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award pour The Snow Knows. Il s’agit du quatri&egraveme ouvrage de Jos&eacutee avec Orca, apr&egraves My Head in the Clouds et Bedtime 123 &eacutecrit par Eric Walters, un succ&egraves de librairie. Elle vit en banlieue de Montr&eacuteal avec sa famille.

Josée Bisaillon's profile page

Attractive and thought-provoking, Poem in My Pocket will be welcomed as a source of inspiration for would-be poets.

CM Magazine

... as a vehicle for getting little ones excited about words arranged in a particular and pleasing order, Tougas and Bisaillon's book is right in the pocket.

Quill & Quire

Whether for classes that celebrate “Poem in Your Pocket Day” or students who love rhyming wordplay, this book is a gift.

School Library Journal

This is a whimsical, rhyming story that gives expression to the long frustration and toil that's often part of the artistic process.

Booklist

This book about wordplay strikes the write balance between silly and sincere.

Kirkus Reviews