About BookSpeak!:

Poet Laura Purdie Salas is back with a collection of wild and weird, wacky and winsome poems about all the magic to be
found on a single bookshelf. In BookSpeak!, each poem gives voice to a group that seldom gets a voice . . . the books themselves! Characters plead for sequels, book jackets strut their stuff, and we get a sneak peek at the raucous parties in the aisles when all the lights go out at the bookstore!

Illustrator Josée Bisaillon’s mixture of collage, drawings, and digital montage presents page after page of richly colored spreads filled with action and charm. Together, Salas and Bisaillon deliver a unique collection brimming with ideas as
much about adventure and imagination as they are about spines and dust jackets.

Reading Suggestions:

1. For each poem, read the title out loud and then ask kids to predict what the poem might be about. Sometimes it’s obvious, but sometimes it isn’t.

2. If a poem is about or is written in the voice of a certain part of a book, gather a selection of books to show the different ways that book part can look. Show examples from picture books, novels, fiction, nonfiction, etc.

3. Choose 3 volunteers to read “The Middle’s Lament.” Each student gets one color of dialog bubbles. They read in order, following the bubbles down the page.

More information in this BookSpeak! Reader's Guide.

From www.laurasalas.com