Silverstein, S. (2005). Runny babbit. New York, NY: HarperCollins.


Runny Babbit lives in a world where things are said in a different kind of way. 'Instead of sayin' "purple hat," They all say "hurple pat."' Runny Babbit has many adventures and gets himself into all sorts of messes. The poems are funny as long as you can keep your knongue out of a tot.


This book is definitely fitting for the genre this week because the definition of poetry contains the expression of feelings or ideas through precise and imaginative words carefully selected for their sonorous and rhythmical effects. Shel Silverstein had a way of creating poems with imaginative words and characters in his writing. Runny Babbit may have expressed Shel's feelings of how he felt in the writing world. Maybe he felt somewhat different from other writers because of his style of writing.


While I was first reading this book I was getting frustrated because my brain wasn't reading what was on the page. I was reading the words the way they are supposed to be read. I finally had to slow down and read the way it is written in order to comprehend. If it is not read slowly, it can become more of a tongue twister than it already is. Children of all ages would love Runny Babbit and the older ones may even be able to write a poem of their own using the language of Runny. 


The rhythm in most of this book is a fast rhythm using many a, e, i sounds. Although, the reader has to use a medium pace when reading to keep from jumbling up the words. However, there are some poems that are meant to be read with a slower rhythm. There is no rhyming in some poems, but you can  feel the rhythm that needs to be used in order to get the full effect of the piece. Other poems in the book do rhyme and can be read a little faster. You must make your mind focus on the words and how they are spelled and not get into the rhythm so much that your mind automatically reads what the words SHOULD be. Remember, you are reading Runny Babbit talk.


Some children enjoy making up their own words and this book may have them walking around speaking Runny Babbit leaving their parents and teachers quite confused.


BIG QUESTION: How might Shel Silverstein have come up with this Runny Babbit talk? 
Create, on your own, a new way of speaking and write a short poem using the new language.