Soup For Breakfast

Soup For Breakfast

By: Calef Brown

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Calef. 2008. Soup for Breakfast: Poems and Pictures. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0618916415

PLOT SUMMARY

Calef Brown has compiled another hit with his random poetic musings that will appeal to the imaginations of children everywhere. While there is no main theme uniting the fourteen poems contained within, it is a wild and wacky ride through Brown’s masterful use of wordplay, style, and intense illustrations that will make this a favorite with readers of all ages.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

As a general rule, rhythm and meter play a large role in Calef Brown’s poetry. Written mostly in rhyming couplets, he alternates between silliness and contemplative tones by turn. If not singing the praises of donuts…”They rave about flavors/and fillings and such./They praise all the glazes./They savor the dough.” he defines the mark of human intelligence as …”The mark of our intelligence/is how we treat the elephants…” His word choice is precise and meaningful, as illustrated in “One to Ten (and Back Again)” with “…Three, Four, nod your head/Think of something odd:/Underwater butterflies./Fuzzy-wuzzy cod…” We hear alliteration sprinkled throughout, such as in “T.P.L.T.T.F” with its “…classic coupes, and vintage vans…” and even a tongue twister in “Tongue Tester” as we read “…Stealthy thieves/in knit wool caps/collect antiques/in thick cloth sacks.” The language and sound in this book of poetry, while it doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue very easily, is witty in its word choice and how the poet strung these poems together.

The illustrations are as important to the poetry as the words themselves. Calef Brown is renowned for his style of illustration, and his use of acrylics in the warm shades of blue, green, orange, and brown fill up the pages. Each poem gets its own two page spread, and he uses every inch of both pages to illustrate the poem contained within. Particularly enjoyable, though it contains no words, is the illustration on the very last page. In it we see several characters and concepts from earlier poems, such as the thief, donuts, and the gossipy egret. Seeing the egret in the picture makes the reader think the thief will soon be found out!

While the majority of the scenes in this poetry collection are ones that both young and old can relate to and enjoy, some of them could not have been dreamed up by anyone other than Calef Brown. That’s what makes reading his poetry and absorbing his illustrations so enjoyable.

REVIEW EXCERPTS/AWARDS

Starred review in Children’s Literature…”Have you ever eaten soup for breakfast? In this delicious book young readers will enjoy sifting through the poems and pictures of Calef Brown’s imagination. In his first poem, Brown writes, “I wish I had bear paws instead of hands./ No one understands.” In the accompanying illustration, a boy shows off his bear claws. Children will enjoy exploring the parking lot that time forgot, the oilcloth table cloth, and the egret in poems that follow. “Architots” is particularly irresistible. Brown begins with the line, “Lots and lots of architects/begin their lives as ‘architots.’” Readers watch these children building houses, schools, and shops. Brown concludes, “What will they imagine next?/ Future famous architects.” The title piece poem, “Soup for Breakfast,” is at the center of the book and begins and ends with the line, “I like soup for breakfast.” This book of poetry contains scenes children will gobble up--a family spilling orange juice under the table, a two-dimensional cat, two thieves ransacking a house, a man painting a masterpiece on a piece of toast, a young moth exploring the skies, and wonderful illustrations of children and adults consuming donuts. Children and parents will enjoy this humorous, fun book of poetry, and the illustrations capture these fun scenes perfectly.”

Starred review in Kirkus Reviews…”This wacky, wild and sometimes witty collection of verse and illustrations will not disappoint Brown’s many fans. There’s plenty of wordplay here, and even some tongue twisters (“Stealthy thieves / in thick wool caps / collect antiques / in thick cloth sacks”). Fourteen brief poems share similar cadences and employ mainly rhymed couplets and some near rhymes (“The mark of our intelligence / is how we treat the elephants”). The acrylic paintings that accompany the poems are done in appropriately vegetal, soupy hues and feature the illustrator’s characteristic childlike perspective and sense of fancy. A tattletale “Egret” spills the speaker’s secret to a tree full of other birds, beaks all flapping to pass the gossip along. Beyond whimsy, there is no apparent thematic unity to the collection, but Brown’s playfulness with language provides food for thought as well as “soup for breakfast,” and may inspire readers to attempt their own terse verse.”

CONNECTIONS

*Visit Calef Brown’s website www.calefbrown.com and poke around the website. Study the different illustrations as he has them broken down, by portraits, kid’s stuff, ink & digital, with lettering, etc. Lead a discussion about how the purpose of his illustration and his materials used might affect what he creates visually.

*Also on his webpage, under the link for children’s books, is an entire section aimed at students. Check out the Videos section, where he has posted three very different interpretations of three of his poems. Encourage the students to select one of his poems to recite or perform for the class. They might add some background music or affect the rhythm and pace of their reading.

*There are several wonderful author interviews with Calef Brown located on www.polkabats.com, under the links section. The interviews go in-depth to find out more about his style, how he began writing/illustrating, and what inspired him. Have the students read any of the available interviews and write down five things they learned about Calef Brown. Compile a list with the class.