Review: Points of View with Professor Peekaboo

This review first appeared in Children's Literature

   Although not every poem deals with an aspect of the environment, many of them do. A thought-provoking poem on the ozone ("With my little eye/ I Peekaboo spy/ something that begins with/ O"), sits alongside a poem about cloning ("Why have two of Peekaboo/ when one of Peekaboo would do?"). There are poems on the extinction of animals as well as languages. Professor Peekaboo also addresses personal hygiene ("Sitting alone/ on my throne/ commonly known/ as the loo…") and (I'm singing/ not in the rain/ but under the shower./ I'm having my soap-rano hour…"). There is one poem per page, and no titles are given. Occasionally, the rhyming and the cadence are a tad off, but that won't bother the middle school students who will appreciate the viewpoints of Professor Peekaboo.

   There is plenty of humor here to keep the readers turning the pages. Kitamura's black and white line drawn illustrations are the perfect accompaniment. They are quirky and comical when called for by the poems.

Reviewed by Sharon Salluzzo.