This is Just to Say

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

By: Joyce Sidman

Illustrated by: Pamela Zagarenski

Houghton Mifflin Company ©2007

ISBN 9780618616800

This is Just to Say is an interesting collection of poems. It leads the reader to believe the collection was put together by a sixth grade class and their teacher, Mrs. Merz. However, the entire collection came from the imagination of Joyce Sidman. The first half of this book contains a collection of poems asking for forgiveness for various misdeeds. Some of the poems are silly, such as I Got Carried Away—about playing dodge ball—and Brownies—about stealing fresh baked brownies;—some are serious, such as The Black Spot—apology for stabbing her sister with a pencil,—It Was Quiet—about putting a dog to sleep,—and Next Time—about a father leaving. The second half of the book is poems of forgiveness in response to the apology poems.

The entire collection was inspired by the poem This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams. There are examples of haiku, pantoums, two-part poems, snippets and rhymes in this collection. My favorite poem, Spelling Bomb, is written in the form pantoum. “The second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines in the next stanza” (Sidman 22). The repetition emphasizes the speaker’s shame for disappointing his parent. While this collection contains examples of refined poetic forms, it also has the most basic form we learn as children:

“Roses are red,

violets are blue.

I’m still really

pissed off at you.”

I will admit that I laughed out loud when I read this response. Joyce Sidman has created an enchanting collection of various types of poetry. It was even nominated for a Texas Bluebonnet Award in 2008-2009.

This collection is a great example of how children (and adults) can use poetry to express silly or serious emotions. It would make an excellent addition to any poetry unit. Since this collection wasn’t actually written by students, I would be curious to see what a group of kids could come up with. This collection would also be great for a unit on manners. It heavily emphasizes the importance of apologizing and forgiving.

Booklist—“Children will find much to identify with in the situations presented in the apology poems, and they’ll appreciate the resolutions given in the responses” (Enos).

Works Cited:

Enos, Randall. "This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness." Booklist 103.18 (2007): 45. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.