Audio book:
Dakos, Kalli, 1997. If
You’re Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand. Read by John McDonough, Christina
Moore, and Jeff Woodman. New York: Recorded Books, LLC. ISBN 1402549563
How is it that this collection has been around for two and a
half decades, and I am just now becoming aware of it? While I was sleeping, Kalli Dakos has made a
name for herself by publishing several books of poetry exclusively about what
goes on in elementary school. Being a former
teacher and reading specialist, Dakos found poetry fodder in everyday events
and recorded them with humor and charm.
Some poems even tackle the sometimes serious moments in school like when
a child dies (J.T. Never Will Be Ten)
or when a child is singled out by a physical difference (Were You Ever Fat Like Me?)
If You’re Not Here
is the first published compilation of 38 of Dakos’ poems of simple rhyme and
free verse. Universally appealing, these
poems tug at the heartstrings, erupt the funny bone, and evoke memories that any
child (or grown-up) who went to school can identify with. A glance down the table of contents is sure
to whet the appetite with titles like Is
Your Head on Nice and Tight? and It’s
Gross to Kiss. The pencil drawings
that accompany the text remind me of notebook doodles characteristic of
wandering minds and restless fingers.
They complement and add interest without distracting.
The voice talents of McDonough, Moore, and Woodman
increase the entertainment value of these poems threefold. Well-known voices in the audio book industry,
their vocal interpretations add a colorful dimension. The volume is consistent and diction is
clear. They each do several different
voices for various characters in the poems making funny poems funnier and
sobering poems more poignant.
It’s hard to spotlight just one poem from this collection
because many of them impacted me. But I found inspiration in Dancing on a Rainbow which expresses the feelings of a student
toward a special reading teacher.
Dancing on a
Rainbow
by Kalli Dakos
When my reading
teacher
Comes to get me
For my special
reading class
I feel like
Dancing on a
rainbow.
To me she is
a light in the darkness
the twinkle of a star
soft as a cottonball
a true friend.
When my reading
teacher
Comes to get me
For my special
reading class
I know what it is like
To dance on a
rainbow.
This is such a beautiful segue into a discussion of words
and acts of kindness that make us feel good.
I can envision a bulletin board full of color coded expressions and arranged in
the six arcs of the rainbow. These
would be meaningful words, people, or events that make students feel like "dancing on a
rainbow." As I prepare to be a reading specialist, I aspire
to evoke dancing memories in my future students.
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