What do you think?
Rate this book
GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys
The wind and I play
tug-of-war with my new kite.
The wind is winning.
When you’re a guy, nature is one big playground—no matter what the season. There are puddles to splash in the spring, pine trees to climb in the summer, maple seeds to catch in the fall, and icicles to swordfight with in the winter.
Nature also has a way of making a guy appreciate important stuff—like how many rocks it takes to dam up a stream, or how much snow equals a day off from school.
So what kind of poetry best captures these special moments, at a length that lets guys get right back to tree-climbing and kite-flying? Why, guyku, of course!
tug-of-war with my new kite.
The wind is winning.
When you’re a guy, nature is one big playground—no matter what the season. There are puddles to splash in the spring, pine trees to climb in the summer, maple seeds to catch in the fall, and icicles to swordfight with in the winter.
Nature also has a way of making a guy appreciate important stuff—like how many rocks it takes to dam up a stream, or how much snow equals a day off from school.
So what kind of poetry best captures these special moments, at a length that lets guys get right back to tree-climbing and kite-flying? Why, guyku, of course!
48 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews
August 25, 2011
I am generally suspicious of anything that claims to be "for boys" or "for girls." At the same time, as I am raising my little son, I am always on the lookout for positive images of masculinity. So I figured I should give Guyku a read. In the end, it turned out to be what I feared: a book of poetry that ought to be accessible to every child artificially limited in its scope to exclude half of them. The haiku in the book depict little boys playing in the woods, running around outside, and generally having a good time. All of these are activities that little girls can and do engage in. Young children spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is a "boy thing" and what is a "girl thing," and our job as parents and educators should be to help them see past those false dichotomies. Bob Raczka chooses instead to portray a world where little boys play with other little boys, and little girls are presumably off doing something else.
If the book had been titled something else, I would have given it a much higher rating. The poems themselves are well written and capture the enchantment children find in the natural world. Also, in our world of iPhone apps for toddlers, I think it is great to remind children of the fabulous world of fun you can have without any technology at all.
If the book had been titled something else, I would have given it a much higher rating. The poems themselves are well written and capture the enchantment children find in the natural world. Also, in our world of iPhone apps for toddlers, I think it is great to remind children of the fabulous world of fun you can have without any technology at all.
April 9, 2019
I love Haiku!
August 24, 2010
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about getting guys to read. Little guys, that is. The figuring is that if you don’t rope boys into the wild world of books while they’re young, you may lose them entirely once they’ve passed the point of no return (say, seventeen or so). So all sort of initiatives have sprung up with dudes in mind. An entire cottage industry, you might say, has surrounded the publication of male-centric fare, and I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point you hear about a Get a Boy To Read Day on the horizon. Into this atmosphere drops a little book by Bob Raczka and Peter H. Reynolds called Guyku. From that title you don’t have to be an English major to figure out what it contains. High-interest boy-friendly fare is all the rage but few titles have attempted to dip such a blatant toe into the world of poetry. Raczka and Reynolds do it together with good poetry and good pictures.
If haiku has a tendency to synthesize the natural world into single lines of pure, clean thought, then how might that format be used to convey all the fun to be had when playing in that world? Guyku travels through the four seasons to conjure up old truths, new ideas, and classic bits of seasonal revelry. From sword fighting with icicles to skipping stones to raking leaves over your brother, Raczka has his finger firmly lodged on the pulse of what it is to be a kid growing up. And for his own part, Peter H. Reynolds stops the book from sounding like mere nostalgia by complementing the title with his contemporary (but still somehow classic) watercolor illustrations.
You know, I might take issue with the subtitle. The full title of this book reads Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys. Here’s my thinking. I don’t think of “guys” as necessarily a male term. There are plenty of tomboy girls out there who’d rather swim a stream and find a snake than play pretty pretty princess with their fellows. And sure, all the guys featured in this book are boys, but if you specifically say that these poems are solely “for Boys” that sort of limits your audience. To my mind, Guyku is better labeled as “A Year of Haiku for Guys”. It’s repetitive, but also a little more inclusive. After all, many a boy-hating girl now will avoid this book like the plague if she thinks its solely boy-centric fare is rife with nasty boy cooties. Her loss.
I think I was a little surprised when I started reading this book and found its content to be different from my expectations. I walked into it, so to speak, with the assumption that these poems would be just mischief-based. I didn’t expect the contemplative tone that would concern the patient damming of a stream with stones or the perfect climbing height of a pine tree's boughs. Once in a while I saw what I expected to see (as in the poem “If this puddle could / talk, I think it would tell me / to splash my sister”) but it’s rare. In his afterword, titled “Why I wrote Guyku”, Raczka talks about how nature made up a significant part of his play when he was a kid. Then he points out that haiku is the ideal male poetic form. Says he, “they’re written in the present tense. In other words, whatever happens in a haiku, it’s happening right now. From my experience, guys are always interested in what’s happening right now.” So there you go.
The distinctive style of Peter H. Reynolds works so well with the individual poems in this book that I found myself poring through his back catalog of titles just to see if he’d illustrated a collection of poems before. The closest thing I could find at this point was his work on the 35th Anniversary Edition of that great Marlo Thomas classic Free to Be You and Me. It’s strange that he hasn’t done more along these lines since it’s clear the man has a knack for it. Or maybe it’s just the fact that haiku suits him well. With short little poems, Reynolds is able to weave his multicultural offering of guys in and out and around the brief darts of poetry. He keeps his watercolors significantly subdued as well. Spring is privy to small splashes of green, summer has yellow, fall brown, and winter blue. Reynolds offers little clues within his palette as well. Look at the title page and you’ll see four dots below the title, one for each seasonal color. Now flip to the end and you’ll see a group of three boys, arms about one another, walking in a field with all the colors from the seasons surrounding them. It's subtle, but it's there.
It’s not as if there isn’t a lot of great poetry for “boys” out there anyway. I mean if Shel Silverstein is anything, he’s the king of the gross, extreme, and bizarre. Jack Prelutsky follows close behind with other books like Technically It’s Not My Fault waiting in the shadows. Guy poetry is everywhere. And traditionally, girls dig these poems just as much as dudes do. We’ll just have to wait and see if their instincts allow them to get a whiff of some of Raczka’s poems, in spite of the lurking subtitle. When Poetry Month rolls around and classes of kids everywhere are told to conjure up haikus of their very own, I do have a hope that Guyku will find its way into the hands of kids looking for a little inspiration. It’s hard to read this book and not want to write a few lines of contemplative multi-syllabled poetry yourself. And alongside books like Charlotte Zolotow’s Seasons and John Updike’s A Child’s Calendar, this is one of the best seasonal books of poems for kids I have had the pleasure to read. A worthy addition to their ranks.
For ages 4-8
If haiku has a tendency to synthesize the natural world into single lines of pure, clean thought, then how might that format be used to convey all the fun to be had when playing in that world? Guyku travels through the four seasons to conjure up old truths, new ideas, and classic bits of seasonal revelry. From sword fighting with icicles to skipping stones to raking leaves over your brother, Raczka has his finger firmly lodged on the pulse of what it is to be a kid growing up. And for his own part, Peter H. Reynolds stops the book from sounding like mere nostalgia by complementing the title with his contemporary (but still somehow classic) watercolor illustrations.
You know, I might take issue with the subtitle. The full title of this book reads Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys. Here’s my thinking. I don’t think of “guys” as necessarily a male term. There are plenty of tomboy girls out there who’d rather swim a stream and find a snake than play pretty pretty princess with their fellows. And sure, all the guys featured in this book are boys, but if you specifically say that these poems are solely “for Boys” that sort of limits your audience. To my mind, Guyku is better labeled as “A Year of Haiku for Guys”. It’s repetitive, but also a little more inclusive. After all, many a boy-hating girl now will avoid this book like the plague if she thinks its solely boy-centric fare is rife with nasty boy cooties. Her loss.
I think I was a little surprised when I started reading this book and found its content to be different from my expectations. I walked into it, so to speak, with the assumption that these poems would be just mischief-based. I didn’t expect the contemplative tone that would concern the patient damming of a stream with stones or the perfect climbing height of a pine tree's boughs. Once in a while I saw what I expected to see (as in the poem “If this puddle could / talk, I think it would tell me / to splash my sister”) but it’s rare. In his afterword, titled “Why I wrote Guyku”, Raczka talks about how nature made up a significant part of his play when he was a kid. Then he points out that haiku is the ideal male poetic form. Says he, “they’re written in the present tense. In other words, whatever happens in a haiku, it’s happening right now. From my experience, guys are always interested in what’s happening right now.” So there you go.
The distinctive style of Peter H. Reynolds works so well with the individual poems in this book that I found myself poring through his back catalog of titles just to see if he’d illustrated a collection of poems before. The closest thing I could find at this point was his work on the 35th Anniversary Edition of that great Marlo Thomas classic Free to Be You and Me. It’s strange that he hasn’t done more along these lines since it’s clear the man has a knack for it. Or maybe it’s just the fact that haiku suits him well. With short little poems, Reynolds is able to weave his multicultural offering of guys in and out and around the brief darts of poetry. He keeps his watercolors significantly subdued as well. Spring is privy to small splashes of green, summer has yellow, fall brown, and winter blue. Reynolds offers little clues within his palette as well. Look at the title page and you’ll see four dots below the title, one for each seasonal color. Now flip to the end and you’ll see a group of three boys, arms about one another, walking in a field with all the colors from the seasons surrounding them. It's subtle, but it's there.
It’s not as if there isn’t a lot of great poetry for “boys” out there anyway. I mean if Shel Silverstein is anything, he’s the king of the gross, extreme, and bizarre. Jack Prelutsky follows close behind with other books like Technically It’s Not My Fault waiting in the shadows. Guy poetry is everywhere. And traditionally, girls dig these poems just as much as dudes do. We’ll just have to wait and see if their instincts allow them to get a whiff of some of Raczka’s poems, in spite of the lurking subtitle. When Poetry Month rolls around and classes of kids everywhere are told to conjure up haikus of their very own, I do have a hope that Guyku will find its way into the hands of kids looking for a little inspiration. It’s hard to read this book and not want to write a few lines of contemplative multi-syllabled poetry yourself. And alongside books like Charlotte Zolotow’s Seasons and John Updike’s A Child’s Calendar, this is one of the best seasonal books of poems for kids I have had the pleasure to read. A worthy addition to their ranks.
For ages 4-8
April 15, 2023
3.5 stars. e the seasons of the year through these haikus. Those of all ages who appreciate nature or like observing it will enjoy this one.
November 21, 2017
A nice reflection of my own son from when he was younger.
October 22, 2010
A dream pairing: Bob Raczka and Peter Reynolds. A series of boys travel through the year, one season at a time, enjoying Nature and boyhood. Raczka's poems evoke the playfulness of boys as they put pennies on railroads tracks, throw snowballs at trees, and catch grasshoppers. Reynolds' illustrations include brown, white, and one other color for each season.
My favorite:
With the ember end
of my long marshmallow stick,
I draw on the dark.
I will definitely share this book with my boy students, who think that poetry is about rainbows and unicorns!
My favorite:
With the ember end
of my long marshmallow stick,
I draw on the dark.
I will definitely share this book with my boy students, who think that poetry is about rainbows and unicorns!
October 5, 2012
Author Bob Raczka's book is a collection of haikus that begin in the spring and end with winter. These wonderful haikus are eventuated beautifully by illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. I'm more familiar with Reynolds works, The Dot and Ish and love his cartoon like drawings which in this case really capture the seasons. It's a beautiful mixture of art and poetry.
"how many million
flakes will it take to make a
snow day tomorrow?
Love it!!"
"how many million
flakes will it take to make a
snow day tomorrow?
Love it!!"
December 7, 2018
Adorable depiction of how well haiku and childhood go together. It's so cute. I find the "being a guy" aspect of it off-putting...sure, it's a great depiction of being a little boy but it also feels like just a great depiction of childhood overall.
May 14, 2018
Beautiful haiku mentor texts, but I'm finding myself troubled by the "boys only" idea.
August 16, 2019
GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys is a children's picture book of poems written by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, which is an anthology of haiku about the relationship between boys and nature.
Raczka's poetry is rather simplistic, but contains wonderful depth. Raczka cites the form's brevity and its emphasis on nature and present this anthology from a boy's perspective (hence the title Guy + Haiku). Categorized by season and progressing through the year, his "guyku" poems celebrate the mud of spring, the campfires of summer, the transformation of autumn, and the joys of winter. Reynolds' illustrations provide an expressively drawn vignette for each haiku in muted tones of mossy green, sepia, and watery blue.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is an anthology haikus written from a boys' perspective and their relationship and love for nature – for each season. It has a nostalgic feeling when children spend most of their times outside – exploring and appreciating the nature around them.
All in all, GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys is a wonderful collection of haikus that explores the relationship between boys and the nature around them, while directed to boys, I do not see any reason little girls would also like these haikus.
Raczka's poetry is rather simplistic, but contains wonderful depth. Raczka cites the form's brevity and its emphasis on nature and present this anthology from a boy's perspective (hence the title Guy + Haiku). Categorized by season and progressing through the year, his "guyku" poems celebrate the mud of spring, the campfires of summer, the transformation of autumn, and the joys of winter. Reynolds' illustrations provide an expressively drawn vignette for each haiku in muted tones of mossy green, sepia, and watery blue.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is an anthology haikus written from a boys' perspective and their relationship and love for nature – for each season. It has a nostalgic feeling when children spend most of their times outside – exploring and appreciating the nature around them.
All in all, GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys is a wonderful collection of haikus that explores the relationship between boys and the nature around them, while directed to boys, I do not see any reason little girls would also like these haikus.
August 29, 2017
There are many things I love about this book. But... my daughter loves to do all of these things. I understand the desire to get boys into poetry but my daughter hates poetry as well! Or she thinks that she does at least. Reynolds talks in the back of the book about defying stereotypes, meaning the notion that boys shouldn't like poetry, but this book is really all about defining them.
November 7, 2013
Guyku was written by Bob Raczka. In the very back of the book he explains that he wrote this book because he’s a “guy”. He’s a “guy” that happens to love haiku’s. He talks about his love of nature and how as a boy he spent a great deal of time outside with his friends. He relates his love of nature for his love of haiku’s because they too are an observation of nature, and nature is a place where guys love to be.
I loved this book because it reminded me of growing up and being outside all day until the sunset. Even though I can’t relate to his gender, I do know that both girl’s and boy’s love nature. Riding bikes, catching fireflies and running in puddles are just a few of the actions we see in the storybook. I love the simplicity, yet powerful meanings in the book.
Peter Reynolds illustrates the book and it is in all black and white with a splash of color to match the season. He shows the change of season by big, bold letters in between two pages. The book starts with spring and we see splashes of green, yellow for summer, brown for fall and blue for winter. Simple, yet powerful pictures of what real life used to look like when I was growing up. The pictures provided me with a sweet memory of some of the best days of my childhood.
This is a great book to use when introducing poetry for both boys and girls. I think it would be a great book to show exciting word choice to students. It can be used for all ages and I believe anyone could find a way to relate! Adorable!
I loved this book because it reminded me of growing up and being outside all day until the sunset. Even though I can’t relate to his gender, I do know that both girl’s and boy’s love nature. Riding bikes, catching fireflies and running in puddles are just a few of the actions we see in the storybook. I love the simplicity, yet powerful meanings in the book.
Peter Reynolds illustrates the book and it is in all black and white with a splash of color to match the season. He shows the change of season by big, bold letters in between two pages. The book starts with spring and we see splashes of green, yellow for summer, brown for fall and blue for winter. Simple, yet powerful pictures of what real life used to look like when I was growing up. The pictures provided me with a sweet memory of some of the best days of my childhood.
This is a great book to use when introducing poetry for both boys and girls. I think it would be a great book to show exciting word choice to students. It can be used for all ages and I believe anyone could find a way to relate! Adorable!
October 10, 2017
I read this today for Poetry Tea Time with my 4 year old son and 8 year old daughter. We definitely talked about how my daughter could and has done every single one of those things. Then we talked about how brother could easily be switched to sister in the haiku and not change the syllables and the meaning would be the same. We then read the authors reason for writing the book. Poetry IS often seen as a girl thing and he wanted to make it more accessible and acceptable to guys. Reality is there are books written for girls and books written for boys and that is really ok. There are finally even more books written to be inclusive to minorities and people with physical and mental differences. It’s all good. There should be something for everyone and talking about it with your kids can be the best lesson of all. In fact I could see writing a companion book with almost identical poems and imagery with a role reversal and call it Gal-ku (or girlku) or something like that... all thought I don’t really think it’s necessary. That would be like needing to rewrite a second version of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson so the main character is female. It could be done but strong women know that we are perfectly capable of doing everything boys can do.
January 10, 2011
To be honest, I almost passed over this book because of the title. I assumed haiku for boys might focus on silly, gross-out humor or sports. However, once I opened the book and gave it a chance I was pleasantly surprised. Raczka's collection of haiku is well written and fun with the illustrations add to the collection. Raczka keeps many of the traditional conventions of haiku--finding the beauty in the every day, appreciating nature, and bringing in the seasons, while capturing the playful spirit of boyhood (and childhood), and highlights the small, every day moments--leaving pennies on the railroad tracks, splashing sisters with puddles, the anticipation of a snow day (my favorite):
how many million
flakes with it take to make a
snow day tomorrow
I'm glad I gave this collection a closer glance beyond the title, and I hope others will too. IT's definitely one of the best collections of poetry for kids I have read this year. ~sj
how many million
flakes with it take to make a
snow day tomorrow
I'm glad I gave this collection a closer glance beyond the title, and I hope others will too. IT's definitely one of the best collections of poetry for kids I have read this year. ~sj
April 12, 2015
About time. Maybe it is titled for boys, but I think men of all ages will resonate with the little-boy pleasure of these short poems arranged by seasons of the year. I don't know how rigidly the creators followed all the rules of the form, but they do hold to the basic structure. And the drawings are amusing and good companions to the verse. My favorite:
(First read in January 13, 2013 - have no recollection of that)
Hey, who turned off all
the crickets? I'm not ready
for summer to end.
(First read in January 13, 2013 - have no recollection of that)
March 13, 2013
Bob Raczka captures a boys' appreciation of nature through haiku poems. He takes you through each season and captures the special moments in life. Being a mother of a mischievous three-year old, I can relate to the thoughts and actions shared by the author. I found myself laughing throughout the book.
This is a great mentor text to demonstrate haiku writing. Elementary children can easily relate to the poems and they are fun to read. The boys' expressions help the reader connect to the poems with smirks, smiles and giggles. This is a wonderful book to add to a classroom poetry collection.
This is a great mentor text to demonstrate haiku writing. Elementary children can easily relate to the poems and they are fun to read. The boys' expressions help the reader connect to the poems with smirks, smiles and giggles. This is a wonderful book to add to a classroom poetry collection.
March 21, 2012
Peter H. Reynolds' art is the magic element for me, but I'm always game for some haiku.
"With baseball cards and
clothespins, we make our bikes sound
like motorcycles."
"Pine tree invites me
to climb him up to the sky
How can I refuse?"
"Hey, Who turned off all
the crickets? I'm not ready
for summer to end."
"With baseball cards and
clothespins, we make our bikes sound
like motorcycles."
"Pine tree invites me
to climb him up to the sky
How can I refuse?"
"Hey, Who turned off all
the crickets? I'm not ready
for summer to end."
December 9, 2010
I absolutely love this book! And, I didn't always like poetry, either. The haikus so exactly catch boyhood behavior! The illustrations are perfect, too! I love Peter H. Reynolds book, Ish and The Dot. He makes art fun!
January 4, 2011
I laughed out loud. I flashed back to my childhood. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying these experiences of a boy's life crystallized into words. The tone of the illustrations matches the haiku perfectly.
January 14, 2011
Seasonal haikus aimed at boys...active and funny poems. Check out guykuhaiku.com website. I used this book for a kids program and we wrote some great winter haikus about polar bears and hot chocolate.
February 22, 2011
"I watch the worms squirm
and decide to bait my hook
with hot dog instead."
Funny, accessible haiku aimed at boys but enjoyable for us outdoorsy girls, too! Great illustrations with plenty of white space, excellent poetry - this is how to get kids hooked.
and decide to bait my hook
with hot dog instead."
Funny, accessible haiku aimed at boys but enjoyable for us outdoorsy girls, too! Great illustrations with plenty of white space, excellent poetry - this is how to get kids hooked.
October 3, 2017
I absolutely cannot give this book enough stars! Clever, expertly written Haikus portraying some of the best things boys love to explore in nature. The simple, yet powerful illustrations enhance the magic of this book. So excited to find a poetry book tailored specifically for little boys!
October 14, 2010
Haiku for boys!! LOVE!
December 20, 2010
Wonderful poetry perfectly matched to delightful illustrations. Perfect for guys AND girls everywhere. Loved the author and illustrator notes at the end too.
January 31, 2011
A silly little book of haiku for boys. My son loved it and he usually doesn't enjoy poetry.
September 28, 2011
I love the simplicity of these poems that capture real experience.
January 3, 2017
What an amazingly clever, creative and fun book. I had to laugh out loud at certain pages because it is so true and reminded me so much of my own boys. Great book for boys...and, really, anyone!
January 25, 2015
Good for grades k-5. Title is misleading-good for ALL children
February 26, 2015
Gorgeous, reflective poetry. While the title is clever these are definitely haiku for girls and boys (and adults!)
October 15, 2010
Wonderful!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews