It was a nice explanation of how this and other poems are created. ( )

16 Words is a thoughtful, thought-provoking nonfiction picture book about the American poet William Carlos Williams. As a doctor, he spent his days checking in on patients and witnessing every day life. In his spare time, he puts his observations down on paper.

This book beautifully shows how the simple act of paying attention to the people around him, resulted in the sixteen word poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow". This fascinating book gives young readers a unique opportunity to learn the story behind the poet and poetry -- and gain a new perspective on what poetry is. ( )

great!! ( )

Lisa Rogers and Chuck Groenink's prose and art meld beautifully to tell a fictionalized, well-researched story of Williams' beloved poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow." Ms. Rogers’ prose uses the same everyday observations and precise words as do Dr. Williams' poems: "Then he lifts the wheelbarrow's handles and balances it on its single tire." Mr. Groenink's soft illustration depicts Mr. Marshall lifting the red wheelbarrow filled with cabbages, tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower and greens from his garden while the white chickens are shooed away by his adult son, Milton.

Together, words and pictures give clues to the writing of the poem. Another page shows Dr. Williams seated at his office desk, stethoscope around his neck, typing on an upright black typewriter: "If he's in his office, he uses the time between appointments to tap on his typewriter." Despite being a busy family doctor, he makes the time to write, showing its importance to him, and encouraging people, like me, to write and not let "busy-ness" get in the way. The sign of a good doctor and a good writer is elucidated here: "He chooses the words for his poetry as carefully as he examines his patients."

And finally, author and illustrator deftly summarize a fictionalized, but probable reason for the creation of this famous poem. Beside the illustration of Dr. Williams in a brown suit, red pen in one hand, notebook in the other, gazing out the window as rain falls, is written:

"He writes of what he notices - the wheelbarrow, the chickens, the rain, the yard. He writes a poem, using just sixteen words. .

“Those sixteen words do not describe Mr. Marshall's chicken coop, or the train rattling nearby. .

“They do not describe Mr. Marshall hefting that wheelbarrow, or the aches and pains he suffers from stooping to care for his plants. .

“They do not describe Mr. Marshall's life of work or caring or love. .

“But somehow they say just that." .

so much depends

upon



a red wheel

barrow



glazed with rain

water



beside the white

chickens



When I read “The Red Wheelbarrow” now, I see rattling train mirrored in the short sentences, and Mr. Marshall’s dedication and love in the perfectly chosen “depend. With time and patience and attention, I am sure to discover more. And that is why poetry and art, reading and observing and thinking, are the essence of our humanity.

Includes Author’s Note, Selected Bibliography, and Some William Carlos Williams Poems to Enjoy.” ( )