April is National Poetry Month and this year I’m posting one book of marvelous poems each week.
Except today, I have two. Two companion volumes of a very tricksy, utterly-delightful form of poetry called Reverso Poems, created by the word-magician, Marilyn Singer.
Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems, was published in 2013.
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths, was published in 2016
Both are gorgeously illustrated by Josée Masse and published by Dial Books for Young Readers.
So, what’s a reverso poem, you ask?
It’s a poem that conveys one meaning if you read the lines top to bottom, and a twist on that meaning when you read from bottom to top.
I am telling you, the patience required to invent just one of these pairs has got to be staggering.
Singer is, astonishingly, the inventor of this format. Her first volume of reversos, Mirror Mirror, I reviewed here. Her second volume, Follow Follow, likewise takes as its theme fairy tale characters. I will give you one example, so you can be as bewitched by this sleight of hand, word-spinning as I am:
Birthday Suit
Behold his glorious majesty:
me.
Who dares say he drained the treasury
on
nothing?
Ha!
This emperor has
sublime taste in finery!
Only a fool could fail to see.
Now, with just some punctuation changes, we read the lines in a reversed order:
Only a fool could fail to see.
Sublime taste in finery?
This emperor has —
ha! —
nothing
on!
Who dares say he drained the treasury?
Me.
Behold his glorious majesty!
Isn’t that amazing?!?!
Grab hold of all three volumes if you can, and enjoy the remarkable cleverness in pages and pages of these pairs, all illustrated in vibrant color and clever compositions by Masse. Singer’s third volume, Echo Echo, covers myths from Pandora to King Midas. Medusa and her snaky locks are here. Theseus and the Minotaur. I can’t think of a more engaging way to accompany an introduction to Greek Mythology.
Each of the poems in Echo Echo includes a tiny synopsis of its original myth so you can understand the poem’s references if you’re unfamiliar with the story. Short summaries of the tales referenced in Follow Follow are located at the end of the book.
orange marmalade 
Really interesting books! Thanks!
Marilyn is an amazing poet!
These look amazing! You are such a wonderful resource. Whenever anyone asks about favorite resources- Orange Marmalade is the first thing I share. Often they don’t even have to ask. We have read so many delightful books that we otherwise would have never known about. Thank you! We will be doing Greek Mythology next year– can’t wait to add “Echo Echo” into the mix. I think my kids will love these reverso poems! Thank you for introducing us.
Thanks for your encouragement, as always, Christine. Yes, I think your kids will love Echo Echo!
We ordered all three books. Hannah read your example and was fascinated. Love the things you introduce us to– so rich and wonderful!