Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2007)

Starred Review Newbery Medalist Park believes that Korean sijo (poems) deserve to be as widely known as that language-arts workhorse haiku, and with this lighthearted collection of her own sijo, the form will make a flying leap into the consciousness of both children and teachers. Sijo is a bit more complicated than haiku, as one can see from the examples, in which lines appear to vary significantly in length and number. Appended explanations note that these discrepancies represent different approaches to the same basic structure, traditionally based on three lines with a set number of stresses and a concluding, conceptual shift. Reflecting sijo's breadth of theme, Park's poems cover topics of immediate resonance to children, including school lunch, long division, and snowmen threatened by warm weather, and children will recognize the engaging turnabout at each poem's close. Banyai's artwork forms a charmingly oblique counterpoint to the mostly down-to-earth entries, with an understated mint-and-gray palette and loose representations that avoid cleaving to any single interpretation. Some readers may wish that Park's occasional sequencing of similarly themed poems had been a little more consistent and decisive, but most will simply enjoy the language, by turns playful and gorgeously descriptive (a receding tide leaves beach sand "freshly scalloped"), and appreciate the advice for sijo writers at every level.

School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 2-6-Sijo is a traditional Korean form of poetry that can take two different shapes, three lines or six lines, using a strict syllable count as haiku does but with distinct differences. All of the lines have a purpose: in a three-line poem, the first one would be the introduction, the second would continue the theme, and the third and final line holds a sort of punch line, be it a play on words or a whimsical observation. Park's sijo, 28 in all, harmonize with illustrations that are deceptively simple at first glance, but have a sophistication and wise humor that will make viewers smile, and at second glance make them think. The selections are thoughtful, playful, and quirky; they will resonate with youngsters and encourage both fledgling and longtime poets to pull out paper and pen. The author's note includes historical background on sijo, further-reading suggestions, and a helpful guide to writing in the form. A smart and appealing introduction to an overlooked poetic form.-Susan Moorhead, New Rochelle Public Library, NY Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

"Sijo," Park tells readers of this beguiling wee book, "is a traditional Korean form of poetry. . . . The first line introduces the topic. The second line develops [it]. And the third line always contains some kind of twist." Thus, "Pockets": "What's in your pockets right now? I hope they're not empty: / Empty pockets, unread books, lunches left on the bus—all a waste. / In mine: One horse chestnut. One gum wrapper. One dime. One hamster." Some sijo rhyme, some use six short lines instead of three long. All provide an intriguing glimpse into an art form that, like haiku, seems simple but is in fact exacting. The poems spring from roots in a child's everyday life, from school to the out-of-doors to sports to homey activities, each inviting readers to examine their familiar world in new and surprising ways. Banyai's whimsical decorations evoke the early 20th century, tiny moppets clad in knee pants gamboling about the page, adding their own droll commentary to the verses. A concluding note provides background, resources and tips for readers to try their own sijo. Fresh and collegial, this offering stands out. (Picture book/poetry. 9-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Similar to the Japanese haiku, the Korean sijo packs image, metaphor and surprise into three long (or six short) lines with a fixed number of syllables: “Lightning jerks the sky awake to take her photograph, flash!/ Which draws grumbling complaints or even crashing tantrums from thunder—/ He hates having his picture taken, so he always gets there late.” Newbery Medalist Park’s (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">A Single Shard) sijo skip lightly from breakfast (“warm, soft, and delicious—a few extra minutes in bed”) to bedtime (about bathing: “From a tiled cocoon, a butterfly with terry-cloth wings”), with excursions to the backyard, the classroom, and the beach (“Are all the perfect sand dollars locked away somewhere—in sand banks?”). The sijo’s contours are clean and spare, qualities echoed in the blue-gray, black and white architecture and crisp shadows of Banyai’s (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Zoom) digital illustrations. In the spirit of Park’s experiments with this verse form, Banyai’s miniature children bounce through a series of imaginative leaps unencumbered by the rules of the real world. They sleep in teacups, grow wings and fly among the flowers, snip mathematical equations to bits with gigantic pairs of scissors, and wreak havoc with bottles of ink. Park wants readers to try sijo for themselves, and in an extensive author’s note she offers history, advice and encouragement; her own sijo and Banyai’s cheeky images will supply the motivation. Ages 9-12<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">. (Oct.)