Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems)

This book is beautiful and fun. The drawings wonderfully complement the images of the words. My daughter and I have enjoyed reading these together. The poems made us laugh and think. The topics are not overwhelming but sensitive. There are good recommendations for further reading and directions to try writing your own sijo at the end of the book. I Strongly recommend this book and will certainly purchase it again to share it as a gift.

There is a great description for adults and older readers about how these poems are written (their construction and history as Korean poetry). I love reading the poems to my 4 yr old son. He understands the humor or some of them and laughs. My two year old loves the pictures and listens intently as well. A great book for them to grow old with and treasure as part of who they are as korean adoptees.

Wonderful examples of sijo poems! My 4th graders loved them!

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A collection of a traditional Korean form of poetry, sijo, on a range of topics.I'd never heard of sijo before finding out about this book. It is an interesting poetry form that has 3 lines, the first two building a theme and the third having a little twist on where you thought the poem was headed. Sometimes there's rhyming and sometimes there's not. I think my favorite of these was "Summer Storm" though "Souvenirs" was a close second and many of them were clever. The back of the book includes a history of this poetry form and a guide to writing sijo if you want to give it a whirl. Definitely a good resource when doing poetry units. Creative writing classes in secondary should consider giving sijo a try with the help of Park's guide.

This is a book of sijo poems for children. Sijo are a Korean poetic form, similar to haiku, but longer.The poems in this book deal with things that a child would identify with, and yet they are quality sijo worthy of adult attention as well.Here is one example poem:DefenderEveryone wants to get the ball,run with it, and score a goal.But when we win one-nothing,that "nothing" means everything.It's tough, playing for nothing.Defense: Intense immense suspense.In addition to the poems, the back of the book explains the sijo form and gives a list of books of sijo to read. This makes it a great resource for poets of all ages.I don't yet own a copy of this book, but was able to read it thanks to the fine people at the Stephenson Public Library, who got it for me on interlibrary loan.

Yes, yes, we know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it's tough to gaze upon the whimsical dust jacket of TAP DANCING ON THE ROOF without feeling hopefully giddy about the pages inside. Happily for us and you and children of all ages, the poems within more than live up to the promise of that little red-dressed girl and her very large scissors.As explained in the Author's Note (a gold mine of information and tips for readers, writers, and teachers alike), sijo is a form of Korean poetry with a fixed number of stressed syllables and a surprise joke or twist at the end. Poem after poem, Linda Sue Park serves up witty observations about everything from long division to bedtime snacks, with plenty of unexpected surprises along the way. Istvan Banyai's playful illustrations -- rendered mostly in gray tones with dashes of color here and there -- wisely complement the poems without ever overwhelming the text. It's the book equivalent of a hot fudge sundae with a cherry on top. Perfect!

Sweet book. Perfect for my class which is named after the author.