A. Bibliography
Wong, Janet S. 2003. Knock on Wood. Ill.by Julie Paschkis. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689855125.
B. Plot Summary
Knock on Wood is a collection of seventeen poems all about a variety of superstitions that are from many different areas around the world. Janet Wong also included descriptions in the back of the book about each superstition she writes about. For example one of the poems is about a broken mirror and when the reader reads the superstition page in the back about mirrors it states,"Mirror: If a broken mirror is like a broken spirit, burying the mirror lets the spirit rest and repair itself." Wong also includes an author's note explaining what inspired her to write this book. Her grandparents taught her about superstitions when she was a young child and it wasn't until she was adult that she started thinking about luck. It was at that time that she "became superstitious." She began remembering all the different superstitions from her youth and then began researching different superstitions.
The range of superstitions include poems about the following: cats, clovers, ears, garlic, hair, hats, horseshoes, keys, ladders, ladybugs, mirrors, potatoes, roosters, salt, the number thirteen, umbrellas, and wood. The folk art watercolor illustrations and color choice add to the mood of each poem.
C. Critical Analysis
The author, Janet Wong, was born in Los Angeles. She is the child of Korean and Chinese immigrants. Although she does credit her grandparents with introducing her to superstitions, Knock on Wood is centered around 17 different superstitions from different geographical locations and legends of long ago. There are superstitions from Egypt, medieval Europe, China, and Adam and Eve in biblical times. Even though she does not list the origins of every superstition, in the author's note she does write about researching using "Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions (Cassell, 1995) and asking her friends about what their parents had told them."
The poems represent many different types of poetry: free verse, rhyme, quatrain, and haiku. The illustration by Julie Paschkis add to the mood of the poem. For example in the poem "Hat" Pashchkis places a variety of many different yellow toned hats on an inviting blue background. On the left side a young sailor is drawn paddling a brown hat used as a boat in a turquoise body of water. On the other page the poem is displayed in a hat frame that adds to the details of the poem.
This is a delightful book that would be a great classroom read aloud to introduce and begin or continue a discussion about superstitions. It would be appropriate for third grade and as high as sixth.
D. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: "Itchy ears, broken mirrors, and hats worn backward join wood spirits, ghosts, and of course black cats in this imaginative exploration of common and lesser-known superstitions. The shapely poems are infused with fey imitations in keeping with the collection's theme: "It is said/salt is magic. The our kind, sea crystals./Spilled salt is magic flung wild." Some selections are haunting, and some humorous, as in this glimpse of a vampire's downfall: "All you bloodsuckers,/ this is your last chance:/ I am one bite/ away-/from a hunk/of Mother's famous garlic chunk chicken." Paschkis creates an exquisite backdrop for the verses. Presented on a panoramic spread, each poem and facing watercolor scene have matching frames, anchoring them as reflections of one another. Some of the borders are abstract designs, but others are suggestive of elements in the verses."
Booklist: The creators of Night Garden (2000) offer another beautifully illustrated collection of poetry, this time celebrating the rituals and beliefs that make up superstitions. Children will easily recognize many of the poems' subjects: black cats, vampires and garlic, fear of ladders. Bu some notions are more unusual: putting potatoes in a pocket to cure arthritis. A few poems are uneven, with forced rhymes or obscure meaning: "Stand bearheaded in the rain / to cure a baldness in the brain," for example. But children will find the subjects compelling, and many of the poems have a sly humor and haunting, lyrical imagery."
E. Connections
To read more poems by Janey Wong, please check out the following books:
Wong, Janet. Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams. ISBN 1416968164.
Wong, Janet. Twist: Yoga Poems. ISBN 0689873948.
Wong, Janet. The Dumpster Diver. ISBN 0763623806.
Wong, Janet. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. ISBN 0689821484.
Wong, Janet. Good Luck Gold and Other Poems. ISBN 1416964525.
Wong, Janet. You Have to Write. ISBN 0689834098.
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