Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems

Bibliography

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? And Other Disasters: Poems. Illus. by Wolf Erlbruch. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. 978-0688178604

Review

Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? And Other Disasters: Poems is a hilarious and sometimes cringe-worthy collection of poems with concrete meaning. Many readers will feel that they can relate to the disasters held by the characters or at least have a fear of these things happening to them. A relatable collection for any reader, young or old.

The rhythm differs in each poem some having short lines with two beats each such as “Oh, No!” (Weaver, pg. 14) or longer lines with four beats as in “Winter Rabbit” (Comora, pg. 9). The patterns in each poem are a reflection of the meaning of the poem. The aforementioned poems’ rhythms are a suggestion towards the meaning each carries: “Winter Rabbit” (Comora, pg. 9) having a sad more serious tone and “Oh No!” (Weaver, pg. 14) holding a playful, funny mood.

Similar to rhythm, the use of rhyme differs from poem to poem. “Nightmare” (Viorst, pg. 23) is one poem that does use rhyme with words such as “dressed…best…vest”. Figurative language is used by various poets to enhance the descriptions in the poems. In “Winter Rabbit” Madeleine Comora on page 9 describe the rabbit’s lifeless ears and feet “like falling velvet drapes”.

In this collection many of the poems’ words are strategically placed to add emphasis to the poem’s meaning. “Play Ball” (Hulme, pg. 17) has words that are written in the shape of a baseball diamond to help the reader visualize the batter running around the four bases. The lines in “Haircut” (Singer, pg. 20) are jagged and uneven, a perfect reflection of the girl’s horrible haircut in the poem.

The mood varies throughout the poems as these disasters cover a wide range of events: losing a pet, forgetting your pants, or stuck on a ferris wheel. As with each poet and poem the tone will vary as does the reader’s response depending on their experience or reflection on the described disaster.

Poem & Connection

Oh, No!

By Katie McAllaster Weaver

Hello apple!

Shiny red.

CHOMP. CHOMP.

Hello worm.

Where’s your head?

(Weaver, p. 14)

Read this poem slowly so that the surprise at the end of the poem can be realized. Show the poem on the board and have the class read it aloud together. Talk about what your facial expression would be like at every part of this poem and as you read each line, have the students portray the writer’s feelings by their facial movements.