My Dog Does My Homework! (2004) is a thin, pocket-sized collection of funny poems from many authors. The editor, Jon Scieszka, has "Poem Pointers" in text boxes on several pages. For example, he invites readers to write a poem about a creepy beast or bug, then adds: "Don't forget to use good verbs like slither and squirm (which rhymes nicely with worm, germ, and term, by the way.)" I suppose teachers love this book, but it does tinge the joy of poetry with the color of work. I appreciate when challenging vocabulary appears in unexpected places, as in "From The Book of Nonsense" by Edward Lear. "There was an Old Person whose habits, Induced him to feed upon Rabbits; When he'd eaten eighteen, He turned perfectly green, Upon which he relinquished those habits." Relinquished: abandon, forgo, quit, renounce, discard. You could probably guess the meaning using context clues.
