Friday, April 09, 2010

Alan Katz - Ch-ch-ch-check, Please

Ch-ch-ch-check, Please
by
Alan Katz

I only eat foods that begin with “c-h,”
like chicken and churros and chili.
If you're cooking dinner and there's no “c-h,”
then trying to feed me is silly.

Today I had chocolate and chickpeas and chips,
chimichangas and chow mein and cheese.
Tonight, chunky chowder is the only choice--
(Mom is out of “c-h” recipes).

She ordered a cookbook that's coming tomorrow;
Mom promised great foods she'll be makin'.
It will be a menu of new “c-h” treats--
like chmeatloaf!! Chomelets! Chbacon!

(from a collection to be published by McElderry Books in 2011 (and to be illustrated by Ed Koren))

© Alan Katz. All rights reserved.

Alan Katz knows funny. Yes, he also knows silly (as his labeled likeness by his frequent illustrator-collaborator David Catrow proves), but if you're one who gives "silly" a bad rap, I've chosen to play the "funny" card. Cuz he is. His "silly dilly" books of songs, like Take Me Out of the Bathtub, have created mirth for years, and if you're lucky enough to hear/see him perform some of these songs, I challenge you not to laugh. Yeah, even if you're in a room of adults as I was. In a room of kids? There's no chance of silence.

What I find in his books, including his poetry collection Oops, is an infectious spirit of joy. When I heard him at an SCBWI conference, I experienced that same joy when he generously gave advice and talked about writing, his family, encouraging kids to laugh and write - any and all types of poetry, by the way - and, well, everything. For all those reasons (and did I mention he's funny?) that's why I'm so happy to have Alan Katz here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

This week's Poetry Friday roundup is over at the always-worth-a-read Paper Tigers blog. Why not go check it out?

Yesterday we had Weeds from Ralph Fletcher. Tomorrow... Dancing Fingers from Carmen Bernier-Grand! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.

12 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

:) I love this.

laurasalas said...

Chmeatloaf? Love that! Maybe my kids would eat it if it had a different name. Nonsense poems don't grab me, but fun and funny ones like this one do!

More chbacon with my cheggs, please:>)

Bridget R. Wilson said...

Great poem! Can't wait to read the whole collection when it comes out.

Anonymous said...

"Chbacon."

Awesome.

Megan Frances Abrahams said...

Delighted you've made this an annual event. Chawesome!

Mary Lee said...

Funny (or silly) -- always a hit with the 10-and-under crowd! (and their teacher!!!)

The Eagle Review said...

This one was a big hit in my class! One of the kids rewrote the school lunch menu and posted it. We had chtacos!

Beverley BevenFlorez said...

Charming! ;)

Marjorie said...

This is a really funny poem - and it felt very topical, probably in an unintentional way, reading it yesterday as I took my son to a speech and language session in the afternoon, since he has a slight stutter. It's so true - "encouraging kids to laugh and write" - yes, we all had a laugh over this one. And it sounds like we should be reading more of Katz' verse...

Anonymous said...

i think this poem is funny i like this poem:]

Anonymous said...

i think this poem is funny i like this poem:]

K-Sue said...

I laughed when I read this.