THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS By Joyce Sidman

Bibliography
Sidman, Joyce. 2007.THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. Ill. Pamela Zagarenski. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 9780618616800

Plot Summary
Sidman's poems are written via fictional Ruth Merz's 6th grade class. Each "student" along with their "teacher" wrote an apology poem inspired by William Carlos Willliams THIS IS JUST TO SAY. Anthony K., a student in the class, had the idea to ask the recipients of the apology poems to write a response poem to be included in the book. There are 18 APOLOGIES, one by Mrs. Merz herself and one by Anonymous with 17 RESPONSES, some written by the students in the class and one from the entire class as whole. Anthony K. writes a helpful introduction to the poems explaining their origin and purpose.

Critical Analysis
The APOLOGIES closely resemble Williams style and rhythm, while the RESPONSES tend to vary from haiku to an adaptation of ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE. Some of the poems touch on issues that still hold meaning to the authors. "I don't know what to call it, / the nugget of darkness, / that made me stab you. / It never goes away." The response poem to this apology is short, "Roses are red, / violets are blue. / I'm still really / pissed of at you." Some of the poems include different dialects that illustrate the characters writing them, such as, " But I been thinking about you, little bro, / ...You got your own stuff -/." The book is organized with apology poems in the first section and the response poems in the second half of the book. I found myself wanting to read the response poem right after the apology so I was flipping back and forth in the book to do this, which was somewhat inconvenient. Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations are interesting and child-like (they are supposed to be the work of 6th grader, Bao Vang. The illustrations, mixed-media on paper, canvas, and wood; collage and computer graphics, depict the content of the poems, some use labels, other appear to be drawn on notebook paper. The font changes from poem to poem, as does the layout and color. This collection of poems will appeal to all ages.

Review Excerpts
Review in Powell's Books: "Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow..."
Starred Review in School Library Journal: "a surprising array of emotions, poetic forms and subjects..."
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly: "inventive mixed-media illustrations"

Connections
*Use as jump start to having students write their own poems for a class book
*Use to begin a discussion on apologies and forgiveness
*Use as an anthology of multiple poetic-forms