Verse Novel

Verse Novel




Bibliography

Holt, K. A. 2014. Rhyme Schemer. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 9781452127002


Summary/Analysis
Rhyme Schemer is a free verse novel told from the perspective of a bully. The first poem of Day 1 describes Kevin’s intentions of bullying early on with the end reading “So many / weenies. / So little / time.” Kevin’s victims are the a student in his class named Robin and at some points the mole on his new teacher’s face. Later on Robin obtains the notebook of Kevin’s poetry and ends up blackmailing him. Kevin ends up having to help in the library and finds a librarian who is looking to help him from getting expelled and gets him to a poetry reading. Kevin eventually begins to have compassion for his fellow classmates and sees himself as a poet. There is not a consistent rhyme pattern throughout the book (very sparse) but the poems are full of figurative language and repetition (“Poetry Boy” p.60). Added drawings/doodles on the pages add to the story and poems as well as the “found poetry” that is used by torn pages from class novels to create newer verses. The verse novel is sure to be easily enjoyed by 5th-8th grade boys, but elements of bullying and transformation are easily enjoyed by most students. The poems are easily understandable and all flow well to tell the story. There is no table of contents, but at the end of the book there is a page of acknowledgements, discussion questions, and some writing and speaking connections.


Use
"Day 25"

Poetry boy.

You’d think they could come up with something
better.

Poetry boy! Poetry boy!
Who’s so tough now?

Poetry boy? Poetry boy!
Where’s your dress?

Poetry boy! Poetry boy!
Harry’s out to get you now.

Why is poetry boy a bad thing
when everyone loves the pages i put on the
walls?

Isn’t that like poetry, too?
Messing with sentences to make new ones?

I’m no boy, I’m an outlaw.
I’m a poetry bandit.

Maybe I should tell my secret.
Spill the beans.

Except what about zero tolerance?
What about MAJOR CONSEQUENCES, MISTER?

It’s all so dumb.
It doesn’t bother me.

Poetry boy! Poetry boy!
Whatever.

Robin is their leader,
By the way.

He thinks i’m easy prey
as he leads the chants
with his juicy dog-bone face.

That I can’t hit.
Anymore.

This poem captures a turning point for the poet going from bully to victim. It also highlights Holt’s use of repetition and figurative language. Before reading the poem make sure that students have an understanding of the story up to this point. After reading the poem out loud discuss how different he is feeling now compared to the first poem of the book. Then use Holt’s “Connecting with Social Issues” at the back of the book. Have students discuss how they can create a classroom environment that shows mutual respect and care for one another.