From looking at the cover of the book, I couldn't make any sense of the title. It's not even an easy word to say, with the hard "g" sound followed by the hard "k" sound. Go ahead! Try to say it out loud!
When I opened the book and read the inside cover flap, it became clearer, though it was still a bit muddy. The word "dogku" was related to the word "haiku." Okay, that made more sense.
Ah! On to the story itself, a story about a litle lost dog, a theme repeated, I'm sure, in many children's picture books.
What was unique about this book was that the whole story was told in haiku poems, one or two on each page, with a large coloured picture to carry the plot along.
Nothing too fancy, just your average 5-7-5 (syllables per line) three-line haikus.
Here's today's challenge: take a simple child's story (e.g., Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, etc.) and rewrite it in haikus.
Post your creations as a comment to this post! You show me yours; I'll show you mine!
i've used Dogku with kids! do you know there's also a Catku? it's by pat welch (and a title easier to say than Dogku, lol!) also cool to check out is another cat-haiku book - well, senryu actually - called Won Ton by lee wardlaw; i love the evocative illustrations accompany this story in poetry. i like the 'challenge' you extend in your post - believe i will adapt it as a tableau activity with my drama students!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I didn't know about Catku, but I did notice that amazon.ca has two other dog haiku books listed:
ReplyDelete- Dog-Ku: Very Clever Haikus Cleverly Written by Very Clever Dogs (human helper: Steve D. Marsh)
- Dogku: Dog Haiku Poems by Ginny Tata-Phillips and Diane Grindol
Perhaps these short poems are particularly suited to small animals?
Cheers to those who’d think
ReplyDeleteto use a chicken bone to
thwart a hag’s dim eyes