From: Karin Snelson <ksnelson>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 11:48:47 -0800

Zazoo (by Richard Mosher) does a wonderful job of expressing how powerful the role of poetry can be in a person's life.

The orphaned Zazoo lives alongside a canal with her loving adoptive grandfather, who brought her from Vietnam to his French village when she was just 2 years old. She and her tiny, 78-year-old Grand-Pierre share daily oatmeal, a passion for poetry, and a mysterious history. Why do the villagers seem leery of her gentle grandfather, even though he is often referred to as a war hero? Why does Grand-Pierre call World War II the "Awful Time"? And what happened to the brown-haired Jewish girl with whom he used to dance the tango so gracefully? (Ages 13 and older)



Megan Schliesman wrote:

of a child. In them, we see Jack grow--as a writer, and as an individual who is moving through grief. And although his is the only voice in the novel, we nonethless get a delightful portrait of a terrific teacher-- sharp, savvy, caring Miss Stretchberry
. ook one way to integrate poetry--challenging poetry--into a classroom.
Received on Thu 03 Apr 2003 01:48:47 PM CST