Bibliographic Data: Singer, Marilyn, and Josee Masse. Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems. Ill. Josee Mazze. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-8037-3769-3.
Plot Summary:
Follow Follow is the companion book to Mirror Mirror, Marilyn Singer’s first book of reverso poems. The poems are based on famous fairy tales or fables, are written in one direction, and then reversed. The only thing that changes is capitalization and punctuation, yet entirely different stories and characters emerge. For instance, in the Thumbelina poem, “No Bigger Than Your Thumb” Singer writes, “Me marry a mole? I am small, but my dreams are lofty and daring, not constant and safe”, and the reverse is “ Constant and safe, not lofty and daring. My dreams are but small. I am a mole. Marry me”.
Critical Analysis:
“Reverso” poems, created by Marilyn Singer, are one poem that is flipped. Some of the punctuation and capitalization changes to best suit the poems, but Singer stated as a rule in reversos that none of the words themselves can be changed.
The poems do not rely on rhythm, assonance, rhyme or other traditional poetry elements to work, but rather on their novelty, line breaks and Singer’s expert word choices. The poems themselves are a delight to read, although they should be read a few times, and possibly out loud to fully glean Singer’s meaning from them. As the words are exactly the same from top to bottom it is easy to read through the reversed poem to quickly and miss the subtle changes and nuisances. The imagery is mostly there (“this emperor has sublime taste in finery! Only a fool could fail to see”/ “Only a fool could fail to see. Sublime taste in finery? This emperor has”), however it is heavily reliant on the illustrations.
If the idea of a reverso poem is not enough to draw in a curious reader, or to keep a reader interested, the poems are vivid and beautiful enough to convince them to stay! Josee Masse’s illustrations are brightly saturated in traditional “royal” colors; mainly jewel tones that are rich, bold, and contrasting. The characters are drawn with lively expressions and it is fascinating to see how Masse transforms the same character with a simple change of expression or dress color. The subtle details hiding in the corners or the center of the mirrored illustrations are humorous, clever, and add a little more depth to some of the more lacking poems. The fact that the poems and illustrations are given equal space from page to page is vital to the story’s success. However, where not all of the poems might be able to stand on their own, the illustrations all could easily.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
The biggest strength in this book comes simply in the intricacies it takes to write a reverso poem. Might this book, and it’s companion Mirror Mirror be as popular if there was only the first poem not reversed? No. However, Singer also would have had more freedom in word choice, rhythm, rhyming, etc. One need only try to write their own short reverso poem to see what a true literary masterpiece this truly is, as writing reverso is very difficult. A better illustrator for this book could not have been chosen. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. The main weakness is that some of the poems are slightly lacking, and that is just the nature of a reverso poem, I believe! One cannot add a lot of fluff and flourish if hoping to make the poems work front to back.
Awards:
Reviews:
The Wall Street Journal: “Marilyn Singer's verse in Follow Follow practically dances down each page . . . the effect is miraculous and pithy.”
Publisher’s Weekly: “[…]Iconic fairy tale characters speak through poems that can be read backward and forward, resulting in drastically different meanings. Familiar rivals duke it out: “I can’t be/ beat./ I’ve got rabbit feet to/ take me to the finish line,” says the overconfident hare. “Take me to the finish line!/ I’ve got rabbit feet to/ beat./ I can’t be/ the smallest bit distracted,” maintains the tortoise. Elsewhere, the line “Behold his glorious majesty” conveys both vanity and incredulity in Singer’s take on the Emperor’s New Clothes. Cobalts, reds, and golds dominate Masse’s textured acrylics, contributing suitably regal visuals for Singer’s dizzyingly clever wordplay.”
*** (Supplemental review from non-scholarly source) Lindsay K., a member on Barnes and Noble’s review site said best what I felt about this set of tales: “I didn't like this collection as much as Mirror Mirror. The illustrations were great, but the reverso poems were lacking and felt forced this time. Or maybe the novelty has worn off?”
Connections:
Plot Summary:
Follow Follow is the companion book to Mirror Mirror, Marilyn Singer’s first book of reverso poems. The poems are based on famous fairy tales or fables, are written in one direction, and then reversed. The only thing that changes is capitalization and punctuation, yet entirely different stories and characters emerge. For instance, in the Thumbelina poem, “No Bigger Than Your Thumb” Singer writes, “Me marry a mole? I am small, but my dreams are lofty and daring, not constant and safe”, and the reverse is “ Constant and safe, not lofty and daring. My dreams are but small. I am a mole. Marry me”.
Critical Analysis:
“Reverso” poems, created by Marilyn Singer, are one poem that is flipped. Some of the punctuation and capitalization changes to best suit the poems, but Singer stated as a rule in reversos that none of the words themselves can be changed.
The poems do not rely on rhythm, assonance, rhyme or other traditional poetry elements to work, but rather on their novelty, line breaks and Singer’s expert word choices. The poems themselves are a delight to read, although they should be read a few times, and possibly out loud to fully glean Singer’s meaning from them. As the words are exactly the same from top to bottom it is easy to read through the reversed poem to quickly and miss the subtle changes and nuisances. The imagery is mostly there (“this emperor has sublime taste in finery! Only a fool could fail to see”/ “Only a fool could fail to see. Sublime taste in finery? This emperor has”), however it is heavily reliant on the illustrations.
If the idea of a reverso poem is not enough to draw in a curious reader, or to keep a reader interested, the poems are vivid and beautiful enough to convince them to stay! Josee Masse’s illustrations are brightly saturated in traditional “royal” colors; mainly jewel tones that are rich, bold, and contrasting. The characters are drawn with lively expressions and it is fascinating to see how Masse transforms the same character with a simple change of expression or dress color. The subtle details hiding in the corners or the center of the mirrored illustrations are humorous, clever, and add a little more depth to some of the more lacking poems. The fact that the poems and illustrations are given equal space from page to page is vital to the story’s success. However, where not all of the poems might be able to stand on their own, the illustrations all could easily.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
The biggest strength in this book comes simply in the intricacies it takes to write a reverso poem. Might this book, and it’s companion Mirror Mirror be as popular if there was only the first poem not reversed? No. However, Singer also would have had more freedom in word choice, rhythm, rhyming, etc. One need only try to write their own short reverso poem to see what a true literary masterpiece this truly is, as writing reverso is very difficult. A better illustrator for this book could not have been chosen. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. The main weakness is that some of the poems are slightly lacking, and that is just the nature of a reverso poem, I believe! One cannot add a lot of fluff and flourish if hoping to make the poems work front to back.
Awards:
- ALA Notable Book
- Booklist Editor’s Choice
- Horn Book Fanfare
- Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of the Year
Reviews:
The Wall Street Journal: “Marilyn Singer's verse in Follow Follow practically dances down each page . . . the effect is miraculous and pithy.”
Publisher’s Weekly: “[…]Iconic fairy tale characters speak through poems that can be read backward and forward, resulting in drastically different meanings. Familiar rivals duke it out: “I can’t be/ beat./ I’ve got rabbit feet to/ take me to the finish line,” says the overconfident hare. “Take me to the finish line!/ I’ve got rabbit feet to/ beat./ I can’t be/ the smallest bit distracted,” maintains the tortoise. Elsewhere, the line “Behold his glorious majesty” conveys both vanity and incredulity in Singer’s take on the Emperor’s New Clothes. Cobalts, reds, and golds dominate Masse’s textured acrylics, contributing suitably regal visuals for Singer’s dizzyingly clever wordplay.”
*** (Supplemental review from non-scholarly source) Lindsay K., a member on Barnes and Noble’s review site said best what I felt about this set of tales: “I didn't like this collection as much as Mirror Mirror. The illustrations were great, but the reverso poems were lacking and felt forced this time. Or maybe the novelty has worn off?”
Connections:
- This book can be used in a classroom, home, or library setting to teach children how to write their own reverso poems.
- Singer, Marilyn. 2010. MIRROR MIRROR. Ill by Josée Masse. New York, New York. Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN 978-0-525-47901-7