In Guess Who, Haiku (2016) by Deanna Caswell and Bob Shea team up to create a really unique picture book.
Caswell plays with the Japanese poetic form of haiku to create several riddle type poems asking readers to guess which animal is being described including a cow, a bee, a horse, a bird, a frog, a fish, a mouse, a cat, and a dog. The poems work together to move the book along to different animals until the big finish where children are the subject of the final poem.
Bob Shea’s exuberant illustration style works well here to create bold pictures for the reveal of each animal. The design of the book also lends a zany bit of charm to this humorous title that reads a bit like a game show adventure.
The book finishes with an explanation of how haiku’s are written and a bit more about the form from Caswell. Large illustrations and a unique (smaller and more square) trim size make this an eye-catching book with lots of appeal.
After reading Guess Who, Haiku the only question is why we have not received the gift of a haiku picture book earlier. Make up for lost time and be sure to check this one out as soon as you can!
Miss Print 